Festival of Ancient Greek Drama Concludes with The Bacchae

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Festival of Ancient Greek Drama Concludes with The Bacchae

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August 1, 2024

An End to a Month of Ancient Greek Drama

After an exhilarating month of captivating performances, the International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama will wrap up next weekend with a final show by the National Theatre of Greece at the Ancient Curium. The festival’s concluding act will be Euripides’ The Bacchae, a tragedy that delves into mysticism, ecstasy, and barbarity, directed by Thanos Papakonstantinou. The organizers promise “an enthralling artistic experience, orchestrated by the god of theatre himself, Dionysus.”

Final Performances on August 9 and 10

The performances will take place on August 9 and 10, presented in Greek with surtitles in both English and Greek. This finale is recommended for audiences over 16 years old and is set in the city of Thebes.

A Story of Divine Wrath and Tragic Conflict

In Thebes, the young King Pentheus is in power when a mysterious stranger arrives, claiming to represent the god Dionysus. Pentheus, newly ascended to the throne, refuses to acknowledge the rituals and divinity of Dionysus, banning the new religion. His defiance provokes Dionysus, who drives the city’s women, including Pentheus’ mother Agave, into a frenzy of nature rituals, wild dances, orgies, and free love.

The Clash Between Law and Rituals

The inevitable clash between societal law and Dionysian rituals escalates into a personal and bitter conflict between Pentheus and Dionysus. This struggle results in a tragic reversal where Pentheus meets his doom at the hands of his own mother, leading to the fall of the house of Cadmus.

Themes of Mysticism and Human Nature

The Bacchae is characterized by its strict formal consistency and immense inner strength, highlighting Euripides’ fascination with mysticism and ecstasy. The play explores themes such as the potentialities of the soul, human virtue, self-awareness, prudence, delusion, rationality, and irrationality. These themes arise from the tension between man and god, forming the core of the tragic conflict.

Euripides’ Late Masterpiece

“Euripides wrote The Bacchae towards the end of his life in the late 5th century BC. He reintroduces Dionysus, the god of theatre, otherness, dismemberment, fusion, bliss, and destruction. The play was meant to end with a dismembered body left uncollected,” explains Papakonstantinou, who directs this summer’s second production by the National Theatre of Greece, featuring a distinguished cast.