Euripides tragedy at Epidaurus
The Cyprus Theater Organization (THOC), whose continuous activity now spans 35 years, returns to the Epidaurus Ancient Theater for the 25th successive year with a staging of Euripides’ «Iphigenia in Tauris» tonight and tomorrow. Through his version of this classic tragedy, Euripides opted for a different conclusion to the myth of the House of Atreus, an exceedingly unfortunate family descended from and persecuted by the gods. Euripides seems to have been dissatisfied with the Aeschylean compromise reached in «Eumenides» and opted to return to an older myth concerning Iphigenia, that of the Taurean Artemis, with its matriarchal roots. «To deal with the work of Euripides is to undertake an exercise in dialectic thought. The ancient Greek enlightenment, with its questioning of facts, constitutes the primary tool for the closest possible examination of the Euripidean landscape,» noted Yiannis Margaritis, the production’s director. «Euripides presents the need for the coexistence of opposites, the need for balance between old and new, ‘barbarian’ and ‘civilized,’ in a different way. The cycle of bloodshed will end in the utopia of complete acceptance, or with the complete acceptance of utopia,» Margaritis continued. THOC’s production was translated by K.H. Myris. The music was composed by Thanos Mikroutsikos. The set was designed by Andy Bargilly. Cast members include Stella Fyrogeni as Iphigenia, Achilleas Grammatikopoulos as Pylades, Antonis Katsaris as Thoas, and Neoklis Neokleous as Orestes. Athens Festival box office: 39 Panepistimiou.
