THE BACCHAE

“Bacchae is the sacred hymn needed to be sung again and again to exorcise evil. Because, like Pentheus, we have forgotten Dionysus, the god of joy, of the body, of celebration, of freedom, of everything that invigorates us. But Dionysus will always be there. The Dionysian dynamic, the vitalizing and animating force of the nature of things will claim its space. The choice of whether our society will relate to it or not will lead to cohesion or grief.”

Aris Biniaris/ Interview- editing: Iliana Dimadi, Dramaturge of the Onassis Cultural Centre- Athens

The performance is a both a theatre and music show that combines poetic speech, live music and acting. Punk music “plugs into the mains” the myth of the “Bacchae” and turns the clash between Pentheus the king and Dionysus the god into an angry hymn to the division of the human soul into logic and instinct. A band of actors —accompanied by two musicians— reflect through acting, speech, singing and movement on the relationship between freedom and dogma, isolation and creativity.