AEF26: Lysistrata

For theatre lovers, summer weekends in Greece are tied to travelling from Athens to the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus for their annual pilgrimage into the heart of Greece’s theatrical heritage. Set amidst the serene landscapes of the Argolid, Epidaurus offers you the chance to sit in an extraordinary and deeply moving space and watch performances that, although rooted to the ancient monument, speak directly to the present moment.

Last year, the Athens-Epidaurus Festival celebrated its 70th edition, a milestone that attests to its enduring place in European cultural life. This year, celebrated director Michael Marmarinos assumes the Festival’s three-year artistic directorship, launching what he describes as an exciting three-year programme. Each edition will be a complete experience on its own, yet together they form a broader vision. He has called it a journey through time, creativity, and the transformative power of performance.

For now, only the programme for the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus has been unveiled, offering a mix of classics, daring reinterpretations, and contemporary works that bring together Greek and international voices. Additional events and artistic actions will be revealed in time, promising further discoveries and delights. While this is the Epidaurus leg of the festival, its spirit extends far beyond, with a lively programme (ΤΒΑ) in Athens that celebrates theatre, music, dance, and creativity.
Check out what you can watch in the ancient amphitheatre:

Director Asterios Peltekis reads Lysistrata as an act of resistance against social entropy. In a world where war has become habitual and politics detached from lived experience, abstention itself becomes a radical gesture. In Lysistrata, Aristophanes crafts a bold and subversive comedy in which women, led by the formidable heroine, withhold intimacy to force an end to war.

Peltekis highlights the reappearance of the body, desire and care as political forces capable of interrupting a destructive cycle. Comedy here does not merely entertain; it reveals the structural absurdity of a society estranged from its own humanity.

At Epidaurus, Lysistrata returns as a living civic event, the performance aims to be a reminder that renewal begins when someone dares to say, ‘enough’.