Bacchae at Epidaurus: Javor Gardev reimagines Euripides with The Tiger Lillies

A bold international co-production between the Athens Epidaurus Festival, the Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria and the NTNG explores the clash between reason and ecstasy

There is a question that could be formulated in a metaphorical, Nietzschean language as follows:

“Is it possible, even if only within the framework of a performance,
for Dionysus to completely and unconditionally defeat Apollo?”

J.G.

With the addition of Euripides’ Bacchae, which will be presented on July 10 and 11 at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, this year’s artistic programme of the ancient theatre reaches its completion. This is a major co-production of the Athens Epidaurus Festival with the Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria, in collaboration with the National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG).

The production is directed by Javor Gardev, with Leonid Yovchev in the role of Dionysus and a mixed ensemble of Greek and Bulgarian actors.

In a rare Epidaurian convergence, in a place where music and drama continue to resonate across time, Bacchae, directed by the acclaimed creator Javor Gardev, is presented as a stage interpretation that destabilizes the eternal conflict between two fundamental principles: the luminous form of Apollo and the chaotic allure of Dionysus.

The god Dionysus is embodied by Bulgarian actor Leonid Yovchev, one of the most gifted and daring performers of his generation, known for his electrifying performances and often described as the enfant terrible of Bulgarian theatre. Agave is portrayed by Loukia Michalopoulou.

The music is composed and performed live on stage by The Tiger Lillies, the internationally renowned British band, who also participate in the action as dark troubadours, with figures drawn from the Dionysian universe. From this collaboration of institutions, bodies, and live music emerges a performance that unsettles the certainty of reason.

In Gardev’s Bacchae, a crucial question is raised regarding society’s tolerance of destabilization. How is an event metabolized within the collective body-intellectually, psychologically, politically–before it turns into trauma? The play operates as a confrontation with the limits of order, testing the endurance of rules and institutions.

In Euripides, Dionysian frenzy is not an innocent celebration but a trial of the very idea of civilization, pushing to extremes the preservation of control, customs, laws, and our self-image.

As the director himself notes:

“Bacchae is the tragedy that goes further than any other in its engagement with irrational impulses and madness. So far, in fact, that it proves dangerous and risky even for the audience, who are called to confront their deepest and most powerful fears.”

The atavistic fear of the collapse of civilization does not reside only within individuals; it nests in the collective unconscious, where communities create myths to protect themselves. From this field emerges an analogy with the experience of Balkan nationalisms, where intolerance-as a political expression of the fear of the ‘other’-turns it into a threat that must be rejected, contained, or assimilated.

The tragedy is built upon the illusion and hubris of certainty–that whatever cannot be contained within language and law can simply be exiled. Yet when humans deny their dark kinship with the irrational, they do not eliminate it; they push it into the depths, from which it almost always returns, more ferocious than before.

Credits

Direction: Javor Gardev
Adaptation: Ioanna Remediaki, Javor Gardev
Music: Martyn Jaques
Live on stage: The Tiger Lillies (Martyn Jaques, Adrian Stout, Budi Butenop)
Set Design: Nikola Toromanov
Costumes: Ilenia Douladiri
Choreography: Uršula Teržan
Lighting Design: Stella Kaltsou
Translation from Ancient Greek: Dorotea Tabakova
Dramaturgy: Ioanna Remediaki, Pavlina Dublekova
Assistant Director: Liuba Todorova
Stage Manager: Bogdan Dimitrov
Press Office: Rita Sisiou
Social Media: Apopsi, Dimitris Kontogiannis

Cast:
Leonid Yovchev (Dionysus), Samuel Finzi (Tiresias), Alexandros Mylonas (Cadmus), Loukia Michalopoulou (Agave), Michail Tabakakis (Pentheus), Ivan Youroukov (Messenger A), Martin Dimitrov (Messenger B), Ivan Nikolov (Servant)

Chorus of Bacchae:
Kremena Slavcheva, Xenia Grammatikou, Danae Stamatopoulou, Alexandra Gkaitatzi, Nadya Keranova, Nefeli Anthopoulou, Eleni Thymiopoulou, Alexandra Svilenova, Angeliki Kintoni, Zoe Efthymiou, Efthymia Daniilidou, Polyxeni Spyropoulou

Co-production: Ivan Vazov National Theatre of Bulgaria – Athens Epidaurus Festival
In collaboration with: National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG)