CULTURE

Political play tours in Greece

The Attiki Skini theater company is touring all the major festivals in Greece this summer with Aristophanes’ ancient comedy «The Frogs.» On Friday and Saturday, the production will go on stage at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus. «The Frogs,» seemingly a comedy about the ancient tragic poets, is in reality a political piece. The play was first staged at the ancient Linaia Festival in 405 BC, where it received first prize just a year before the end of the Peloponnesian War. The comedy focuses on Euripides’ tragedies and compares them to the works of the other two great tragic poets (Aeschylus and Sophocles), but mostly those of Aeschylus. When «The Frogs» was presented, Aeschylus had already been dead for about half a century. In people’s minds, he had become the poet-symbol of the generation that routed the Persians and created the Athenian empire. On the other hand, Euripides was the poet of a controversial era. Aristophanes has set the struggle between Aeschylus and Euripides within the framework of a general contradiction between the bravery, virtue and security of traditional customs and the beliefs of the past against the uncertainty of the present. The production, which uses a translation by Thanassis Bindas, was directed by Thanassis Theologis. It stars Anna Synodinou, Haris Romas, Ilias Logothetis and Gerasimos Skiadaressis and also features actors Vassilis Kolovos, Spyros Sarafianos and Michalis Theodorou. The sets and costumes are by Maria Kleves-Chryssikou. After the Epidaurus performances, «The Frogs» will travel to Rafina on Sunday, then to Avlida near Halkida on August 16, to Karditsa on the 17th, to Delphi on the 18th and to Thessaloniki’s Dassos Theater on the 19th, before continuing on to Crete.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.