Athens – Epidaurus Festival 2024 / Program announced – 93 productions, 2,500 artists

On June 1, the curtain rises Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2024, with 93 productions, in 85 days and participation approx 2,500 performers and creators from every corner of the earth.

“Our performances this year have a political orientation, in the sense that they focus on the challenges of coexistence in modern societies: the demand for Democracy, Justice and inclusion, as well as the imperative need for civic participation. This thread runs through our programming from Piraeus 260 to Herodeion and the ancient theaters of Epidaurus” notes, among other things, in her note the artistic director of the Festival, Katerina Evagelatos.

The highlights of the program:

Ancient drama with international signatures

Two leading European creators on the international scene are coming to Epidaurus: Timofey Kouliabin, after being commissioned by the Festival, will present Euripides’ “Iphigenia en Avlidis” in a world premiere, with an excellent troupe of Greek actors in a contemporary political reading of the classic work . Thiago Rodríguez, Portuguese director and new director of the Avignon Festival, comes with “Not Hecuba”, a work where the tragic myth of Hecuba is interwoven with the story of an actress and mother, in a show that, as its title says, does not is Euripides’ Hekabe – this production marks the Comédie Francaise’s new descent in Epidaurus, and is presented immediately after its world premiere in Avignon.

In Athens, leading creator Simon Stone is moving in a similar dramatic direction, who the Festival proudly presents for the first time in Greece as a director, with the legendary production “Medea” from the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, at the Pallas Theatre. Stone, a versatile auteur, with a presence on the world’s biggest theater and opera stages as well as an important film project, signs a modern adaptation of the myth, with a high aesthetic spirit, with sensational interpretations.

Democracy/ Justice

Democracy and Justice as timeless claims are key words in this year’s programming.

The repertoire at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus illuminates these concepts, through works such as “Oresteia”, staged by Theodoros Terzopoulos with the National Theater -which also presents Euripides’ “Bacchaeus” directed by Thanos Papakonstantinou-, the “Iketides ” by Aeschylus directed by Marianna Kalparis with the Art Theater and the Theater of Neos Kosmos, “Chickens” directed by Ari Biniari, and “Plutos” directed by Yiannis Kakleas for the KTHBE. Furthermore, “What We Owe Democracy” is the title of a three-day action platform co-produced with the Municipal Theater of Piraeus and directed by Nikos Diamantis, which focusing on the triptych of Health – Language – Food will be held at the Sotiria Hospital, the National Library and the Fish Scale of Keratsini.

Magicians on stage

The Herodeion hosts a robust program with large orchestras, top conductors and performers, as well as great figures of modern and Greek Music, while, after many years, the Dance returns, with a great artistic event, the new creation of ‘Ane Teresa’ De Kerschmacher and the Rosas team, in a choreography that will overwhelm the stage with its explosive energy. The Herodei program opens and closes with the two opera productions by the National Opera: Puccini’s Tosca, under the musical direction of Loukas Karytinos and directed by Hugo de’Ana, and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata directed by Constantinos Rigos.

In terms of the classical repertoire, the Festival sought a balance between younger musical forces, such as the temperamental countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński and the chief musician Santtu-Matias Rouvali, established names such as Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma , and great orchestral ensembles: the Athens State Orchestra, with Loukas Karytinos and the famous American, Estonian-born conductor Neeme Järvi, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with Simon Rattle, the Graz Philharmonic, with Vassilis Christopoulos, the Philharmonic Brass , with Philippe Auguin, and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Great female performers will also brighten the program: Khatia Buniatishvili, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Magdalena Kožená and Alexia Mouza.

In the Greek program we meet three personalities of the domestic music scene: Dionysis Savvopoulos, with the concert – a tribute to the Transition, Tania Tsanaklidou, with a musical performance spanning 50 years of her discography, and Mimi Plessas, who turns 100 this year years of life, with a concert- tribute to his legendary career.

In terms of contemporary music, we will have the opportunity to enjoy the unconventional artist and activist ANOHINI with the Johnsons, on their world premiere tour, Loreena McKennitt’s favorite tunes, the Sting phenomenon and jazz legend Charles Lloyd, with his quartet and the guest participation of Maria Faradouri.

“How to live our lives?”

In the program of Piraeus 260, according to Katerina Evagelatos, performances were selected that, through different stage languages, answer the double question “How to live our lives?” How can we endure our lives?’ They touch on issues of identity, investigate the impact of technology on our daily lives, with the development of artificial intelligence, talk about the feeling of isolation in a world that the citizen feels inhospitable but also about moments of bliss that coexistence gives.

In this year’s program we will meet big foreign names of theater and dance, such as: Krzysztof Varlikowski (focusing on three plays by the Nobel laureate J.M. Cucci), Guy Cashiers (“Mr. Lin’s Beloved” comes from KTHBE to Piraeus 260 ), Suzanne Kennedy, Cornell Moudruccio, Caroline Guigela Engigen, Rabi Mrouet, Serge Aimé Coulibaly and Roger Bernat (with his own Rite of Spring, based on Pina Bausch’s acclaimed choreography), as well as Forced Entertainment and Tim Etchells who are celebrating 40 years of their special presence on the international stage with a new project, which outlines the entrapment of modern man in an artificial intelligence environment. Themes of community and participation are highlighted by the Dance program, which opens with the “À la carte” of the international Greek choreographer Yiannis Mantafounis and the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company.

Also among the events at Piraeus 260, a tribute to Lefteris Vogiatzis stands out, for the 80th anniversary of his birth, with the screening of the archival footage of the historical “Antigone” that he directed in Epidaurus (2006 and 2007), while his close associates will share with us moments from the creation of the show. In addition, in the context of the Circle dedicated to Postcolonization, Xenia Kalpaktsoglou, Christoforos Marinos and Christos Chrysopoulos are reviving the legendary TV show of Robiros Manthoulis “A film, a discussion” (ERT, 1976 – 1982), in a stage installation which brings to life the dialectic of Postcolonialism through open discussions, performances and screenings.

grape – Greek Agora of Performance

The innovative grape initiative for the systematic promotion and promotion of Greek Theater and Dance, which has already begun to bear its first fruits, continues this year as well. Eight works will be presented in a concentrated five-day period (July 21 – 25) for professionals, international guests of the Festival, but also for the Athenian public. All the works ask, in a way, the question “Can we reverse the perspective of the world for a while?”. The artists participating this year are: Anestis Azas, Katerina Andreou, Mario Banushi, Hara Kotsali, Yolanda Markopoulou – Station Athens Group, Efthymis Filippou – Angeliki Papoulia, Zoi Hadjiantoniou and Argyro Chioti.

Expansion of partnerships

With an eye on the 70-year anniversary of its journey, in 2025, the Festival expands its cooperation with historical institutions and various places in the city, from the Ichthyoskala of Keratsiniou to the Pallas Theater, from the IME hall to the historic hall of Palaia Voulis, from the EMST and the National Library to the Sotiria Hospital, the Contemporary Theater and the Athens Conservatory. Finally, in co-production with the Athens Conservatory, the Subset Festival, the multi-prismatic music platform that focuses on the dialogue between contemporary music and new media, is back again.

You can see the full program of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival here.