Press Releases

Four productions will be presented in this year’s “International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama”, co-organised by the Deputy Ministry of Culture, the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism.

The 27^th edition of the “International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama” will take place from July 19 to August 10, 2024, at the Ancient Odeon in Pafos, at Makarios III Amphitheatre in Lefkosia and at Curium Ancient Theatre in Lemesos, hosting performances with contemporary aesthetics and artistic approach in ancient Greek drama.

The Festival’s productions are the following:

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 caught between two circumstances, two situations, and two decisions. The Romanian production marks the opening of the Festival and will be presented at Pafos Ancient Odeon on July 19 and at Makarios III Amphitheatre on July 21.

The next production is Plutus by Aristophanes, presented by the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG). Directed by Giannis Kakleas and featuring an excellent cast of actors and theatre professionals, the NTNG’s production of Plutus presents the comic poet's satire on the human dream for wealth in an imaginative way. Plutus will be presented at Curium Ancient Theatre, for two performances, on July 26 and 27.

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, in a single performance and with an excellent cast of 32 actors on stage. Through his famous Method, the great theatre master, Theodoros Terzopoulos, presents another exquisite directorial proposal, an unrepeatable cultural event, an emblematic performance of intellectual and philosophical depth, which comes to expand the boundaries of art. The production of the National Theatre of Greece, Oresteia, will be presented for two performances, at Curium Ancient Theatre on August 2 and 3.

This year's Festival hosts -for the first time- the second summer production of the National Theatre of Greece, The Bacchae by Euripides, directed by Thanos Papakonstantinou. With an exceptional cast of actors and participants, an interesting troupe of 20 actors and three musicians on stage, the director delves into the mystical and ecstatic universe of Euripides' play and presents yet another interesting approach to the tragedy. The production of the National Theatre of Greece will be presented for two performances, at Curium Ancient Theatre on August 9 and 10.

Ticket sales are now on (at SOLDOUT TICKETS, STEPHANIS stores, TIME OUT KIOSK Pafos).

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)

For further information contact 7000 2414 or visit: www.greekdramafest.com. 

Performances start at 21:00.

FESTIVAL’S PROGRAMME

TONY BULANDRA THEATRE, Romania

ORESTES by Euripides

▪ Friday, July 19 │ Paphos Ancient Odeon

▪ Sunday, July 21 │ Makarios III Amphitheatre

With Greek and English surtitles

NATIONAL THEATRE OF NORTHERN GREECE

PLUTUS by Aristophanes

▪ Friday, July 26 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, July 27 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

With Greek and English surtitles

NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE

ORESTEIA by Aeschylus

▪ Friday, August 2 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, August 3 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

With Greek and English surtitles

NATIONAL THEATRE OF GREECE

THE BACCHAE by Euripides

▪ Friday, August 9 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

▪ Saturday, August 10 │ Curium Ancient Theatre

With Greek and English surtitles.

The organisers’ goal is to continue the ascending and successful course of the “International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama”, striving to enhance and cultivate theatre education, to ensure the access of Cypriot audiences and foreign visitors to the performances, as well as to contribute to the cultural tourism in Cyprus.

A total of 35 proposals were submitted for participation this year, by theatre organisations and artists from 17 countries. After examining and evaluating the proposals, the seven-member Selection Committee resulted in formulating a diverse programme of productions, with special emphasis on quality.

Selection Committee

The Selection Committee for the Festival 2024, consisted of one representative of the Deputy Ministry of Culture: Georgia Hoplarou, Cultural Officer A’ in the Department of Contemporary Culture/Chair of the Committee; two representatives of the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute (CCOITI): Emilios Charalambides, Academic, Director, Secretary of the Board of Directors of the CCOITI and Stavros Stavrou, Cultural Manager, Lyrics-writer, Philologist, Member of the Board of Directors of the CCOITI; one representative of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism: Maria Socratous, Tourism Officer A', and of three members according to merit, appointed by the Deputy Minister of Culture: Elena Katsouri, Set designer, Antonis K. Petrides, Associate Professor of the B.A. Programme “Studies in Hellenic Culture” at the Open University of Cyprus and Antonis Tsakmakis, Associate Professor of Greek of the Department of Classics and Philosophy at the University of Cyprus.

(EK)