18th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANCIENT GREEK DRAMA

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MEDEA BY EURIPIDES

Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Pandur.Theaters, Slovenia & Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatia

• 4 July, Paphos Ancient Odeon

• 6 July, Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

One of the best works of the great ancient writer Euripides, Medea, a story about love, envy, greed for fame and revenge, a co-production by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Pandur Theaters, Slovenia and the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Croatia, will open the 18th International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama on the 4th July 2014 at the Paphos Ancient Odeon. Medea, directed by the internationally acclaimed Tomaž Pandur, was presented in Croatia and Slovenia and, a few weeks ago, at the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival 2014, in Colombia. The direction as well as the terrific acting of Alma Prica in the leading role have been highly praised in many countries.

PHILOCTETES BY SOPHOCLES

ETHAL (Limassol Theatre Development Company), Cyprus

• 8 July, Curium Ancient Theatre

• 11 July, Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

• 12 July, Paphos Ancient Odeon

ETHAL (Limassol Theatre Development Company) in cooperation with Technodromio, Cyprus and a Pera Theatre, Greece, will present Sophocles’ tragedy Philoctetes, translated by the awarded Greek poet Giorgos Blanas and directed by the Artistic Director of ETHAL, Minas Tigkilis. This is ETHAL’s first participation at the Festival. The leading roles will be interpreted by Eftihios Poullaides as Philoctetes, Kostas Kazakas as Odysseus, Konstantinos Gabriel as Neoptolemus and Alexandros Parisis as the Tradesman. Philoctetes is a tragedy about human pain, abandonment and the association between conscience and politics, honour and duty.

LYSISTRATA BY ARISTOPHANES

Highway Productions & NPO Lykofos, Greece

• 13 July, Curium Ancient Theatre

• 14 July, Curium Ancient Theatre

The Highway Productions in cooperation with Giorgos Lykiardopoulos’ NPO Lykofos, in a co production with the The Municipal Regional Theatre of Agrinio, Greece, will present the most popular and most frequently staged comedy of Aristophanes, Lysistrata, directed by the Lithuanian director Cezaris Grauzinis. Maria Gkavogianni as Lysistrata, Antonis Loudaros as Magistrate, Kaiti Konstantinou as Calonice, Thanasis Tsaltampasis as Cinesias, Nantia Kontogeorgi as Myrrhine and many other acclaimed actors and actresses will offer the public an unforgettable experience. Spyros A. Evangelatos translated and adapted the play and Giorgos Patsas designed the set and costumes.

Written with Aristophanic sparkling humour in the darkest days of the Peloponnesian War, Lysistrata (411 BC) has shone down the millennia as a hymn to peace, love and womanhood.

ORESTEIA: THE LIBATION BEARERS, THE EUMENIDES BY AESCHYLUS

La Fondazione Instituto Nazionale Del Dramma Antico – INDA, Italy

• 18 July, Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

• 19 July, Paphos Ancient Odeon

The Fondazione Instituto Nazionale Del Dramma Antico – INDA, Italy, based in Syracuse, Sicily, an institution that serves ancient Greek tragedy and comedy for a century now, will present the two tragedies of The Oresteia trilogy, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, written by Aeschylus. The production had its first performance on 9th May 2014 at the Greek Theater in Syracuse, directed by Daniele Salvo with Francesco Scianna, Francesca Ciocchetti, Marco Imparato and Elisabetta Pozzi in the leading roles.

OEDIPUS

Compagnie José Besprosvany / IDEA asbl, Belgium

• 21 July, Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

• 22 July,  Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

The famous Mexican director and choreographer José Besprosvany participates at the Festival for the second time, after his magnificent production Prometheus Bound (15th International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama 2011) and presents Oedipus, a Compagnie José Besprosvany/IDEA asbl production, co-produced with the Theatre Royal du Parc, Brussels and the Theatre d’Ivry Antoine Vitez, Paris.

In this faithful take on Sophocles’ tragedy by writer Olivier Kemeid, José Besprosvany sets out to enrich once again the stage through his company’s hallmark juxtaposition of text, music, and dance. Oedipus was highly praised in Belgium and France.

ALCESTIS BY EURIPIDES

Amfiktio Theatre, Cyprus

• 25 July, Makarios III Amphitheatre, Nicosia

• 27 July, Curium Ancient Theatre

• 28 July, Paphos Ancient Odeon

Amfiktio Theatre will close the Festival with Euripides tragedy Alcestis, the symbol of self-denial and wifely devotion, directed by Nicos Charalambous. In the leading roles are Maria Michael as Alcestis, Charis Kkolos as Admetus, Simos Tsiakkas as Heracles, Anna Yiangiozi as Maidservant, Julia Tsolka as Death, Markos-Julius Droushiotis as Apollo and Neophytos Neophytou as Pheres.

* All foreign language performances will be surtitled in English and Greek. All Greek performances will have English surtitles.