AEF2026: Alcestis

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:

Euripides’ Alcestis arrives at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in a striking new production by the National Theatre of Greece, directed by Dimitris Karantzas. A work of unsettling dualities, it hovers between life and death, nightmare and playfulness, tragedy and unexpected irony — a contemporary parable charged with political weight.

The premise is stark: King Admetus can escape Death only if someone else agrees to die in his place. His wife, Alcestis, steps forward, offering her life in a public act of sacrifice. Seen through a modern lens, her death reads as a form of sanctioned femicide, upheld by the very social and political order meant to protect her.

Uniquely among surviving ancient tragedies, Alcestis brings both Death and Resurrection to the stage. Yet Euripides leaves us with troubling questions: what does it mean to return from the dead? What lingers in Alcestis’ silence? And who truly pays the price for salvation?

Karantzas approaches the play as a living stage experiment, blending music, movement and shifting tonal registers to create a fluid, liminal world. The result is a powerful meditation on power, gender and the human cost of sacrifice.