AEF2026: The Trojan Women

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:

Eleni Efthymiou directs The Trojan Women as a physically charged and profoundly human exploration of war’s aftermath. At its centre stands the female body as site of memory, violence and endurance.

Efthymiou expands the dramatic field of Euripides’ play, originally set in the period immediately after the fall of Troy and centred on the sufferings of the wives and children of the city’s defeated leaders, who are taken as slaves. The director works to include bodies and voices often rendered invisible, underscoring war as an ongoing mechanism of dehumanisation. The production frames loss not only as personal tragedy but as collective history inscribed upon the flesh.

With live music and a strong ensemble presence, this staging asks whether traumatised bodies can reclaim agency and whether dignity can survive systematic devastation.