INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA 2024

Event Dates:

Event	Day	Date	Venue	Tickets:
2024 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA FESTIVAL PASS €35	Friday - Saturday	19/07/2024 - 10/08/2024		FESTIVAL PASS: CHOOSE AND ADD TO YOUR CART YOUR SEATS FOR 4 PERFOMANCES BELOW
ORESTES by Euripides, TONY BULANDRA THEATRE ROMANIA	Friday	19/07/2024	21:00	PAPHOS ANCIENT ODEON		BUY
ORESTES by Euripides, TONY BULANDRA THEATRE ROMANIA	Sunday	21/07/2024	21:00	MAKARIOS III AMPHITHEATRE		BUY
PLUTUS by Aristophanes, NATIONAL THEATRE OF NORTHERN GREECE	Friday	26/07/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE		BUY
PLUTUS by Aristophanes, NATIONAL THEATRE OF NORTHERN GREECE	Saturday	27/07/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE		BUY
ORESTEIA by Aeschylus, NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE	Friday	02/08/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE		BUY
ORESTEIA by Aeschylus, NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE	Saturday	03/08/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE		BUY
THE BACCHAE by Euripides, NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE	Friday	09/08/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE	Suitable for ages 16+	BUY
THE BACCHAE by Euripides, NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE	Saturday	10/08/2024	21:00	CURIUM ANCIENT THEATRE	Suitable for ages 16+	BUY

More about the event:

 

2024 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ 
 

(I)   ORESTES by Euripides │ TONY BULANDRA THEATRE, ROMANIA
       Directed by Yiannis Paraskevopoulos
 

▪ Friday, July 19 │ Paphos Ancient Odeon
▪ Sunday, July 21 │ Makarios III Amphitheatre
 

Romania's Tony Bulandra Theatre presents the Euripidean tragedy, Orestes, directed by Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, a production focused on the core element of suspension, where the heroes are constantly between two circumstances, two situations, two decisions.

After the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra, hunted by the Furies and condemned to death by the city, Orestes languishes, a sick savage on a mattress with Electra at his side. When their uncle Menelaus, returns to Argos from Troy, accompanied by Helen, the two siblings hope that he will intervene and persuade the City to overturn the death sentence that has been passed on his nephew. However, neither Menelaus nor their grandfather, Tyndareus, intend to help them. Orestes then turns to Pylades, who proves his strong friendship by deciding to support him at the risk of his life. The two young men, with the assistance of Electra, set in motion a plan of revenge with Helen and her daughter Hermione as victims, which seems to lead them deeper and deeper into a vicious cycle of violence and blood. Trapped in their actions, they desperately try to save themselves. The final solution comes from the intervention of Apollo as deus ex machina.

Euripides deals with the myth previously dramatised by Aeschylus in Eumenides bringing the myth closer to human standards and raising questions about the relations of generations, genders, social cohesion and the survival of the young in a world defined by insecurity and uncertainty.
 

▪ With Greek and English surtitles

▪ Suitable for ages 12+

▪ Duration: 95 minutes
 

CREDITS

Translation: Claudiu Sfirschi-Lăudat

Direction: Yiannis Paraskevopoulos

Set design: Horațiu Mihaiu

Costume design: Valentin Codoiu

Choreography: Johanna Bodor

Music composition: Manos Milonakis

Lighting Design: Adrian Dragomir

Assistant to the director: Mircea Silaghi

Technical Director: Iulian Scarlat
 

CAST

Oana Marcu (Electra), Mario Monțescu (Orestes), Andrei Mărcuță (Pylades), Cristian Olaru (Menelaus), Iulia Verdeș (Helen), Iulia Alexandra Dinu (Hermione), Constantin Florescu (Tyndareus), Camelia Varga (Messenger), Radu Câmpean (Phrygian), Florin Georgescu Jr. (Apollo)
Chorus: Antonia Ionescu, Ana Maria Carablais

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬

 

(II)  PLUTUS by Aristophanes │ NATIONAL THEATRE OF NORTHERN GREECE
        Directed by Giannis Kakleas
 

▪ Friday, July 26 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, July 27 │ Curium Ancient Theatre
 

Aristophanes’ comedy, Plutus, is presented by the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG), directed by Giannis Kakleas. The NTNG’s production, featuring an excellent cast of actors and theatre professionals, presents in an imaginative way the comic poet's satire on the human dream for wealth.

The main character, Chremylus, is a bankrupt farmer who is at a loss to understand why, despite being an honest and pious citizen, he ended up losing all his possessions. Chremylus and his servant, Carion, nurse Plutus to health. Blinded by Zeus, Plutus cannot distinguish the just from the unjust, the honest from the vile. Thanks to the hospitality of Chremylus, Plutus finally regains his sight and justice is accordingly restored. Aristophanes’ comedy is a wink to the audience, indicating what he would consider fair in the ideal polity: every citizen should be rewarded as they deserve.

Almost 2,500 years later, the Aristophanic question on wealth distribution remains relevant with clear references to the present day. Giannis Kakleas, who, in addition to directing, also signs the translation in the new production of the NTNG, notes: “Our poet, in his own uniquely satirical manner, shows us a way of managing material goods, but always with the interests of the Polis in mind –a Polis with just, honest, and virtuous citizens. Is this utopian? Possibly. Aristophanes however reserves the right to dream!”.
 

▪ With Greek and English surtitles

▪ Suitable for ages 12+

▪ Duration: 100 minutes
 

CREDITS

Translation - adaptation / Direction: Giannis Kakleas

Set design: Manolis Pantelidakis

Costume design: Ilenia Douladiri

Original music composition: Vaios Prapas

Original lyrics: Last Guest

Choreography: Stefania Sotiropoulou

Lighting design: Stella Kaltsou

Assistant to the director: Aris Kakleas

Associate Set/costume designer: Danae Pana

Assistants to the costume designer: Manolis Psomatakis, Despina Papadimitriou

Assistant to the lighting designer: Iphigenia Gianniou

Production Coordination: Athanasia Androni
 

CAST

Manos Vakousis (Chremylus), Alexandros Zouridakis (Plutus), Giannis Syrios (Karion), Polixeni Spyropoulou, Chrysi Bachtsevani, Anna Efthymiou, Kleio Danae Othonaiou (Penia), Dimitris Diakosavvas (Cleonymus), Fay Kokkinopoulou (Archidamia), Giannis Tseberlidis (Artemidoros), Dimitris Morfakidis (Elpenor), Alexandra Palaeologou (Elpiniki), Foteini Timotheou (Lefkothea), Giannis Harisis (Thrasymachus), Thanos Feretzelis (Callisthenes), Mary Andreou (Aeropi), Eleni Mishopoulou (Lysimachi)

Dancers on stage: Anastasia Kelesi, Stefania Sotiropoulou, Marios Hatziantonis, Nikolas Hatzivasileiadis

Musicians on stage: Vaios Prapas, Last Guest

Neighbours/Mystes/Choreography of Chremylus and Penia/Members of the party: The Troupe

Maria Efthymiou, Professor of History at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, appears in the Parabasis of the performance.

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬

 

(III)  ORESTEIA by Aeschylus │ NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE
             Directed by Theodoros Terzopoulos
 

▪ Friday, August 2 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, August 3 │ Curium Ancient Theatre
 

The internationally acclaimed Greek director and teacher, Theodoros Terzopoulos, collaborates for the first time with the National Theatre of Greece and directs Aeschylus' Oresteia, the only surviving trilogy of ancient drama and also the last surviving work of the tragic poet, in a single performance and with an excellent cast of 32 actors on stage.

Aeschylus draws his material from the myth of the House of Atreus and the terrible curse on the family, composing the trilogy Oresteia (Agamemnon, Choephori, Eumenides).

After ten years of war, the Palace of Mycenae is preparing to welcome its king, Agamemnon, the triumphant general of the Greeks. But his return from Troy also means his death at the hands of his wife, Clytemnestra, with the support of Aegisthus. In Choephori (The Libation Bearers), Orestes’ return will bring the revenge longed for by Electra. The Chorus rejoices at the redemption of the royal house and Orestes prepares to flee as a supplicant to Delphi to seek Apollo's protection, pursued by the Furies. The Eumenides is based on the creative telling of Attic cult myths about Orestes' flight to Athens and his trial by the gods of Olympus. Aeschylus’ plot is further enriched by the establishment of the Areios Pagos (Supreme Court) on Athena’s initiative and the court’s involvement in breaking the curse. Balance and reconciliation put an end to the cycle of blood and revenge.

Through his famous Method, the great theatre master, Theodoros Terzopoulos, presents another directorial proposal, aiming to “dig deep into the myth of Oresteia and search for the unpredictable, the unusual, and the paradoxical. The aesthetics of the production arise from the dynamic relationship of the Body with Myth, Time and Memory”.
 

▪ With Greek and English surtitles

▪ Suitable for ages 12+

▪ Duration: 200 minutes
 

CREDITS

Translation: Helene Varopoulou

Dramaturgy/Direction/Set -Costume design/Lighting design: Theodoros Terzopoulos

Original music composition: Panayiotis Velianitis

Dramaturg: Irini Moudraki

Dramaturgy advisor: Maria Sikitano

Assistant to the director: Theodora Patiti

Set design associate: Sokratis Papadopoulos

Costume design collaborator: Panagiota Kokkorou

Lighting design collaborator: Konstantinos Bethanis

Artistic collaborator: Maria Vogiatzi
 

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Evelyn Assouad (Cassandra), Niovi Charalambous (Electra), Nikos Dasis (Apollo), Tasos Dimas (Watchman/ Athenian Citizen), Sophia Hill (Clytemnestra/The Ghost of Clytemnestra), Elli Ingliz (Nurse), Kostas Kontogeorgopoulos (Orestes), David Maltese (Aegisthus), Anna Marka Bonisel (Prophetess), Dinos Papageorgiou (Herald), Aglaia Pappa (Athena), Savvas Stroumpos (Agamemnon), Alexandros Tountas (Servant), Konstantinos Zografos (Pylades)

Chorus: Babis Alefantis, Aspasia Batatoli, Nikos Dasis, Katerina Dimati, Natalia Georgosopoulou, Katerina Hill, Elli Ingliz, Vasilina Katerini, Thanos Maglaras, Elpiniki Marapidi, Anna Marka Bonisel, Lygeri Mitropoulou, Rosy Monaki, Stavros Papadopoulos, Vangelis Papagiannopoulos, Michalis Psalidas, Myrto Rozaki, Yannis Sanidas, Pyrros Theofanopoulos, Alexandros Tountas, Konstantinos Zografos

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬

 

(IV)   THE BACCHAE by Euripides │ NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE
             Directed by Thanos Papakonstantinou
 

▪ Friday, August 9 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, August 10 │ Curium Ancient Theatre
 

Thanos Papakonstantinou directs the second summer production of the National Theatre of Greece, Euripides' The Bacchae, with a remarkable cast of artists.

When the god Dionysus arrives in Thebes, King Pentheus refuses to acknowledge that his first cousin is a god and bans the new religion. His defiance excites the wrath of the god, who, in a tragic reversal of persecutor and persecuted, leads Pentheus to destruction at the hands of his own mother.

This Euripidean tragedy is marked by strict consistency of form and enormous inner strength, while simultaneously revealing the poet’s keen interest in mysticism and ecstasy. The tragedy’s central dramatic themes are the potentialities of the soul, human virtue, self-consciousness, prudence and delusion, the rational and the irrational, all of which emerge from the antithesis between man and God, the same antithesis from which the drama’s tragic conflict arises.

“Euripides writes the Bacchae at the end of the 5^th century BC and his lifetime. There he brings back to the stage the god Dionysus, the founder of the genre. The god of theatre, otherness, dismemberment and fusion, bliss and destruction, sets up a play that Euripides intended to end with a dismembered body that no one collects”.
 

▪ With Greek and English surtitles

▪ Suitable for ages 16+

▪ Duration: 120 minutes

 

CREDITS

Translation: Giorgos Himonas

Direction: Thanos Papakonstantinou

Dramaturgy: Ioanna Remediaki

Set/Costume design: Niki Psychogiou

Original music: Dimitris Skyllas

Choreography: Nanti Gogoulou

Lighting design: Christina Thanasoula

Musical coaching: Melina Paionidou, Dimitris Skyllas

Dramaturg: Eri Kyrgia

Assistant to the director: Fanis Sakellariou

Assistant to the set designer: Yannis Setzas

2nd Assistant to the set designer: Zoe Kelesi

Assistant to the costume designer: Penelope Hansen
 

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Konstadinos Avarikiotis (Dionysus), Marianna Dimitriou (Tiresias), Alexia Kaltsiki (Agave), Themis Panou (Cadmus), Argyris Pandazaras (Pentheus), Giannis Koravos, Dionysis Pifeas, Fotis Stratigos (Messengers)

Chorus: Margarita Alexiadi, Eirini Boudali, Chrissianna Karameri, Eleni Koutsioumpa, Maria Konstanta, Kleopatra Markou, Eleni Moleski, Georgina Paleothodorou, Iokasti-Agave Papanikolaou, Thaleia Stamatelou, Danae Tikou, Stellina Vogiatzi

Musicians on stage: Thodoris Vazakas, Maria Deli, Alexandros Ioannou, Yiannis Kaikis

 

▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬ ▬

 

2024 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

▪ Info: 7000 2414 │www.greekdramafest.com

▪ Performances start at 21:00 │ Please arrive at the theatre before 20:15

It’s strongly recommended to arrive at least 45 – 60 minutes prior to the beginning of the performance to avoid delay and crowding. Entry after the start of the performance will not be allowed.
 

▪Ticket prices:

▫ €12 regular

▫ €8 concessions (for students, senior citizens, National Guard, large families, unemployed)

▫ €35 festival pass (per person for attending all four performances)

▫ €10 for group sales (over 10 persons per performance) at [email protected]
 

▫ Free admission for:

▪ People with disabilities, upon reserving their free pass by calling 7000 2414 (at least five days prior to each performance). Please present the relevant ID at the ticket gate.

▪ Members of CCOITI, upon early settlement of their 2024 membership fee and reserving their free pass with the use of their personal password.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

To facilitate the public from Nicosia, bus transportation will be offered to the Curium Ancient Theatre for the following performances:

• Plutus by Aristophanes (produced by the National Theatre of Northern Greece) on July 26 and 27
• Oresteia by Aeschylus (produced by the National Theatre of Greece) on August 2 and 3
• The Bacchae by Euripides (produced by the National Theatre of Greece) on August 9 and 10

Theatre experts will accompany audiences on the buses to explain and analyse the plays.

▪ Bus ticket: €3.00 (round-trip)

It is necessary to purchase the bus ticket with the performance ticket, 10 days in advance, due to the limited number of buses.

▪ Departure: 18:30

(From the parking lot opposite the Handicraft Centre on Athalassa Avenue)

 

► IMPORTANT NOTES FOR THE AUDIENCE

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE PERFORMANCE VENUES:

▪ Audience members must display their tickets (in electronic or digital form) upon admission.

▪ Audience members who have purchased concessions are required to display their ID/ supporting documents     upon admission.

▪ Audience members must comply with the instructions of the Festival’s security staff and ushers.

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING RESTRICTIONS SHALL APPLY AT ALL VENUES:

▪ Audience members will not be admitted to the venues after the start of the performance.

▪ Smoking, eating and drinking (with the exception of water) in all performance venues are not allowed.

▪ The use of mobile phones during the performance is not allowed.

▪ Taking photographs, with or without the use of flash, and recording (audiotaping or videotaping) part and/or the whole of the performance are not allowed.

▪ Audience members are expressly prohibited from occupying seats other than those specifically stated on their tickets.

 

RECOMMENDED:

▪ Audience members are strongly advised to pre-purchase their tickets to avoid overcrowding at the box office, before the start of the performance.

▪ Audience members are advised to bring an individual seat cushion.

▪ Crowding in all public areas of the venues must be avoided.

▪ Audience members are kindly reminded not to litter and use the bins provided at all venues.

 

□ Notes for attending performances at the Curium Ancient Theatre:

Audience members are advised to arrive at least 60 minutes before the performance. Once the available parking spaces at the archaeological site are filled, the entrance of other private cars is prohibited. The rest of the private cars shall be parked in Agios Ermogenis and audience members will be transported to the theatre by buses.
The last bus route from Agios Ermogenis’ parking lot to the theatre, departs at 20:40. After the last bus route, audience members will have to walk from Agios Ermogenis to the theatre in order to attend the performance.

 

□ Notes for attending performances at the Paphos Ancient Odeon:
The entrance to the Ancient Odeon is located on Galatiani Street, from the roundabout of Kings Avenue Mall towards the port of Kato Paphos (Ap. Pavlou Avenue). Parking spaces will be indicated by the Festival’s security staff upon entering the Archaeological Site.