ATTIS THEATRE

• Drama: EURİPİDES
• Translation: Leonidas ZENAKOS
• Staged by: Theodoros TERZOPOULOS
• Scenery, Costumes: Giorgos PATSAS
• Music-Extracts from “Mystery”: Giannis Christou and from aborgines of Australia
• Clarinet: Nikos FILIPPIDIS

Cast

• Chorus: Euriclia SOFRONIADOU and all of the company
• Dionysos: Akis SAKELLARIOU
• Tiresia, Agavi: Safia MIHOPOULOU
• 1st and 2nd Messenger: Giorgios SIMEONIDIS
• Pentheus: Dimitris SIAKARAS
• Cadmo: Thedoros POLIZONIS

The story written by “the father of modern European drama” pits the God Dionysus (alias Bacchus) against Pentheus, king of Thebes, an antagonism which has been interpreted as religion vs. rationality. The “rational” is actually a self-rightous fanaticism and the “religious” translates to orgiastic cultism that the man sees to deny in himself and others. Dionysus is angry because the people of Thebes no longer honer him. To bring them back to his fold he charms the women including Agaue, mother of Pantheus, into joining him on the mountain for a carnival. When the populace, including Cadmus, grandfather of Pentheus, ebgins to follow Pentheus attempts to imprison them all including the god in disguise. Of course gods cannot be captured.