{"id":11903,"date":"2026-08-27T09:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/event\/vakches\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T09:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T06:26:00","slug":"vakches","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/en\/event\/vakches\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bacchae"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Bacchae<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Bacchae<\/strong> comes to the Greek theatrical scene under the direction of acclaimed creator <strong>Javor Gardev<\/strong>, with the special participation of the internationally renowned British band <strong>The Tiger Lillies<\/strong>. The band not only composed the music but also performs live on stage, simultaneously taking part in the action of the play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production is a major co-production of the <strong>Athens Epidaurus Festival<\/strong>, the <strong>Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria<\/strong>, and the <strong>National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG)<\/strong>. Directed by Javor Gardev and featuring a mixed Greek-Bulgarian cast, including internationally acclaimed German-Bulgarian actor <strong>Samuel Finzi<\/strong> and <strong>Loukia Michalopoulou<\/strong>, the performance will be presented on <strong>Wednesday, September 2, at 9:00 p.m.<\/strong>, at the <strong>Ancient Theatre of Philippi<\/strong>, as part of the <strong>69th Philippi Festival<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gardev\u2019s <em>Bacchae<\/em> poses a crucial question about society\u2019s tolerance of destabilization. How does an event become metabolized within the collective organism\u2014intellectually, psychologically, politically\u2014before it turns into trauma? The play confronts the limits of social order, testing the resilience of rules and institutions. In Euripides, Dionysian frenzy is not an innocent celebration, but a challenge to the very idea of civilization, pushing to the extreme our efforts to maintain control, customs, laws, and our own self-image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production premiered at the <strong>Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus on July 11 and 12<\/strong>, receiving rave reviews from both audiences and critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Euripides\u2019 <em>Bacchae<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>With the special participation of The Tiger Lillies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A co-production of the <strong>Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria<\/strong>, the <strong>Athens Epidaurus Festival<\/strong>, the <strong>National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG)<\/strong> and <strong>Vegas Cultural<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>English Translation:<\/strong> Robin Robertson<br><strong>Modern Greek Translation (Surtitles):<\/strong> Theodoros Stefanopoulos<br><strong>Bulgarian Translation (Surtitles):<\/strong> Doroteya Tabakova<br><strong>Theatrical Adaptation:<\/strong> Ioanna Remediaki and Javor Gardev<br><strong>Concept &amp; Direction:<\/strong> Javor Gardev<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Music &amp; Lyrics for the Rhapsodies:<\/strong> Martyn Jacques<br>(Copyright and publishing Misery Guts Music Ltd., 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Set Design:<\/strong> Nikola Toromanov<br><strong>Costume Design:<\/strong> Ilenia Douladiri<br><strong>Choreography:<\/strong> Ur\u0161ula Ter\u017ean<br><strong>Vocal Coaching for the Chorus:<\/strong> Kalin Nikolov<br><strong>Lighting Design:<\/strong> Stella Kaltsou<br><strong>Graphic Design:<\/strong> Teodora Simova<br><strong>Dramaturgy:<\/strong> Ioanna Remediaki and Pavlina Doublekova<br><strong>English Language Coaching:<\/strong> Nathan Cooper and Mark Modzelewski<br><strong>Assistant Director &amp; Surtitles Operator:<\/strong> Lyuba Todorova<br><strong>Director\u2019s Consultant:<\/strong> Valleri Robinson<br><strong>Stage Manager:<\/strong> Bogdan Dimitrov<br><strong>Second Assistant Director:<\/strong> Elena Kostova<br><strong>Photography:<\/strong> Elina Giounanli<br><strong>Advertising:<\/strong> Renegade Media<br><strong>Graphic Design:<\/strong> Mavra Gidia \u2013 Teodora Simova<br><strong>Make-up:<\/strong> Olga Falei<br><strong>Hair:<\/strong> Thomas Galazoulas<br><strong>Communications &amp; Public Relations:<\/strong> ART WAYS \u2013 Dimitra Papadopoulou<br><strong>Tour Management &amp; Production:<\/strong> GINONTAI ERGA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rhapsodes (The Tiger Lillies)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Mesaios<\/strong> \u2014 Martyn Jacques<br><strong>Aitherios<\/strong> \u2014 Adrian Stout<br><strong>Chthonios<\/strong> \u2014 Budi Butenop<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cast<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dionysus<\/strong> \u2014 Leonid Yovchev<br><strong>Cadmus<\/strong> \u2014 Alexandros Mylonas<br><strong>Tiresias<\/strong> \u2014 Samuel Finzi<br><strong>Agave<\/strong> \u2014 Loukia Michalopoulou<br><strong>Pentheus<\/strong> \u2014 Michael Tambakakis<br><strong>Servant<\/strong> \u2014 Ivan Nikolov<br><strong>First Messenger<\/strong> \u2014 Ivan Yurukov<br><strong>Second Messenger<\/strong> \u2014 Martin Dimitrov<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chorus of Bacchae<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nefeli Anthopoulou, Alexandra Gaidatzi, Xenia Grammatikou, Efthymia Danilidou, Zoe Efthymiou, Eleni Thymiopoulou, Angeliki Kintoni, Polyxeni Spyropoulou, Danae Stamatopoulou, Nadya Keranova, Kremena Slavcheva, Alexandra Svilenova<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Video:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/U4fzuu4mOfU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/U4fzuu4mOfU<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Duration:<\/strong> 120 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The performance will be presented in English, with Greek surtitles.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vakxes-scaled.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"11898\" src=\"https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vakxes-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11898\" srcset=\"https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vakxes-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vakxes-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/festivalphilippon.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/vakxes-768x512.jpg 768w, 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