Ancient Greek theater to flood the streets of Ghent
The Belgian city of Ghent is hosting a festival dedicated to ancient Greek drama, presenting the entire canon of 32 surviving plays in the streets of the city, free of charge, from May 1 to June 23.
The All Greeks Festival is organized by the NTGent theater company and will be held in eight different parts of the historic Flemish city. The program is a rich one, which goes beyond the actual performances of the plays, to include monologues, performance art, installations and other artistic initiatives capturing the spirit of the festival.
‘The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have an exceptional quality to hold up a mirror to our city, our country, and Western society’
What is causing the biggest buzz, though, is the inclusion of new plays inspired by the ancient ones, such as “Medea’s Children” by renowned Swiss director Milo Rau. Rau is, in fact, the artistic director of the festival but also of NTGent’s entire 2023-2024 program.
“A few years ago I was walking through a park in Paris early in the morning. A group of actors were performing Shakespeare among the trees. For the first time in my life, I understood every word. Throughout the day, that experience echoed within me: the simple beauty of performing a classic for those who happened to be there,” says Rau of the inspiration behind the All Greeks Festival.
The idea of hosting the festival in open, public spaces is also compatible with accessibility and inclusiveness, key principles governing the event. People are free to come and go as they please, plus several events will be taking place in the morning. It is a reference to the ancient Greek custom at, for example, the Great Dionysia, which was designed to encourage the public to spend all day at the theater, even taking their meals there. And, as the weather in Ghent is not quite Greek, the organizers like to remind people of the city’s motto: “Nie neute, nie pleuje” (Don’t complain, don’t give in).
The All Greeks Festival is a lifelong dream of Milo Rau. He has been fascinated by Greek tragedies and the cradle of Western civilization since he studied them in high school. But there’s more to it. For years, Rau also pleaded people to stop seeing art as a mere form of leisure we indulge in after a long day of work. “Why not spend our best hours on it? Why not enjoy theater in the morning when we have the greatest clarity of mind? Why not come together in a simple ritual of connection with others to start the day?” comments the festival’s curator, Matthias Velle.
Adaptations of the classics still tend to aim at initiating a dialogue between the past and the present world and its challenges. “Many of the antagonisms that collide in Greek tragedies are our own: reason versus ecstasy, us versus them, autocracy versus democracy, mankind as a part of the cosmos versus mankind as a destructive force… The plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, therefore, have an exceptional quality to hold up a mirror to our city, our country, and Western society,” says Rau.
