AEF2023: any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones

It’s that time of the year again, when Athenians start planning their summer holidays around the programme of the Athens Epidaurus Festival. The leading performing arts festival in Greece, and one of the oldest in Europe, returns between June 1st and August 26th for its 68th edition with a rich programme of events. As always, the main venues are the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the industrial complex of Pireos 260 and the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. Click here for our festival picks or head over to the official website for the full programme.

This event's title is a line from a speech delivered by Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, to the Hong Kong protesters in 2019. Avant-garde Belgian choreographer and performer Jan Martens draws inspiration from protests and acts of resistance against state repression from across the world, to create this inventive dance performance. The Berlin-based Dance On company, consisting of  seventeen dancers aged 17 to 81 years old, executes an innovative choreography based on Henryk Mikolaj Górecki’s Harpsichord Concerto . The choreography is enhanced with pieces of resistance dating back to the 1960s and up to this day, by artists such as Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, to Kae Tempest.