Back after several years, the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC) returns to the Athens and Epidaurus Festival this year with The Persians by
Aeschylus. At a press conference on Tuesday 17th of January at THOC, its chairman Yiannis Toumazis, flanked by the Athens and Epidaurus Festival Artistic Director Vangelis Theodoropoulos and The Persians director Aris Biniaris, said THOC will go on tour in both Greece and Cyprus. “THOC’s Board of Directors is happy to receive such an honorary invitation from Vangelis Theodoropoulos, Artistic Director of the Festival of Athens and Epidaurus, to participate once more, after a long time with one of our own productions and especially with one staged through the eyes of a young director with much success in Greece,” said Toumazis. He expressed hope that this year’s return to Epidaurus with an interesting approach to ancient drama, will leave its mark in the world of theatre. He also added that it is a great honor and joy to be working with a leading Greek tragedian of our times Kariofilia Karambetti and talented actor Nicos Psaras for the first time. The Persians, the most important anti-war work of Aeschylus deals with the suffering of the Persians, when informed of their crushing defeat at Salamis. Theodoropoulos welcomed the partnership and said although the director is young he has extensive experience in the field. When referring to Karabetti he noted that not only is she one of the best actresses, especially when it comes to tragedy, but also one of the most honest collaborators. He announced that from this year onwards there will be a triangular relationship between the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus and the Lyceum of Epidaurus, which constitutes an international school for ancient drama and will start operating this year.
The theme of the Festival will be “the arrival of the outsider”. He went on to explain that the ancient Greeks thought highly of outsiders and protected them even if they were the enemy. He also mentioned that the Director of the French Avignon Festival will be staging a performance at the Little Theatre of Epidaurus. Director Aris Biniaris said he realises the magnitude of the responsibility and the importance of directing at Epidaurus, as this is the first time he will be presenting his work there, and also because it marks THOC’s return to the ancient theatre after a long time. He said that, naturally, there is anticipation, but the aim is to translate that into inspiration and action.
Biniaris mentioned that “through this performance we aspire on the one hand to capture the exceptional meaning of tragedy not in a cerebral way but through the reverberation of pulse, music, motion and acting, and on the other to highlight the universal character of tragedy”. The aim, he noted, is for the performance to be fresh, lively and powerful and to be presented in a unique manner with the contribution of music. He further explained that this is a process that we encounter from the beginning of tragedy, adding that the texts were primarily musical compositions.
The performance, he noted, will draw on ancient and modern Greek music. “We will create a musical theatre show that will draw on information from the musical side of theater, ” he concluded.
