AEF2025: The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes

The Athens Epidaurus Festival celebrates its 70th edition in 2025, with 95 days of artistic brilliance featuring over 3,000 artists from 14 countries. From iconic venues in Athens like the Herodeion, Pireos 260, and the revived City of Athens Lycabettus Theatre, to the grand finale in Epidaurus, the festival brings the world’s top performances to Greece’s stages.

This year’s programme includes world premieres, new commissions, and exciting artistic strands such as Contemporary Ancients, which reimagines Greek tragedy, and Fierce Women in Performance, exploring gender and power. The GRAPE – Greek Agora of Performance platform highlights emerging Greek talent, while the Subset Festival brings experimental sounds to the stage. Cycles Roots revisits folk traditions with a fresh twist.

Check out our curated picks from this year's programme here.

What if artificial intelligence ran the world? That’s just one of the big questions explored in The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes — a smart, bold and moving show by Australia’s award-winning Back to Back Theatre.

Performed by a cast of professional actors with intellectual disabilities, the play begins as a casual conversation and gradually unfolds into something much deeper. Through humour, honesty and sharp storytelling, it explores human rights, identity and our place in a world shaped by technology.

The show’s title comes from an old fable about a dog who loses everything by chasing an illusion — a fitting image for a world full of distraction and misunderstanding. Expect a mix of wit, vulnerability and punchy social commentary.

There are no easy answers here — just big themes like AI, human rights and collective responsibility, delivered with heart and courage.