Athens Festival

Stage director Katerina Evangelatou is midway through her second term as artistic director of the Athens-Epidaurus Festival, the country's biggest cultural event. She assumed the post in extremely troubled times in 2019, having to contend with the Covid pandemic, and is now sailing in much calmer waters, with experience and confidence.

The Culture Ministry has completed its acquisition from the National Bank of an iconic cultural venue at a former industrial complex on Pireos Street near central Athens, in a 12.6-million-euro deal bankrolled through the Recovery Fund. 

The ministry has hailed the initiative as a "vital" part of plans to gentrify the capital's Elainos district and "elevate it into a cultural hub." 

"You Can't Tie a Mustang Down," written by Christos Chomenidis and directed by Takis Tzamargias, is a play inspired by Euripides' "Ion," set in two contrasting worlds: Delphi, a mythical utopia near a ski resort and tavernas, and Athens, characterized by immorality and political corruption.

The Athenian leg of the Athens Epidaurus Festival will come to a grand finale with "The Garden of Pleasures" at the Herod Atticus Theater (aefestival.gr). Directed by French artist Philippe Ken, the play is a captivating allegorical spectacle, blurring the lines between utopia and dystopia, inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's iconic Renaissance painting.

The play by award-winning writer Christos Oikonomou, "Philoctetes," is inspired by Sophocles' classic work of the same name. Directed by Sarandos Georgios Zervoulakos, the play will be showcased at the Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus.

Taking place at Playground 260 on Pireos Street, the festival, organized by the Athens Epidaurus Festival (aefestival.gr) in collaboration with the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center and United We Fly, features renowned and emerging names from the modern Greek indie and alternative rock scene.

Pantelis Flatsousis and his team present a unique performance at the Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus. Based on Aeschylus' classic play "Seven Against Thebes," this production explores the theme of war and its devastating consequences.

The official opening of an exhibition featuring the works of Greek artists who represented Greece at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ) takes place at the Peiraios 260 complex on July 11.

Acclaimed artist Jerome Bel is unveiling his autobiographical creation, aptly titled "Auto-bio-choreo-graphic," at the Peiraios 260 (H) venue as part of the Athens Epidaurus Festival (aefestival.gr). In the solo piece, Bel skillfully weaves a narrative that exudes both humor and tenderness, delving into his own doubts, commitments, failures and passions.

Renowned dance duo RootlessRoot delves into the profound exploration of silence and its transformative potential in their latest piece, presented at the Athens Epidaurus Festival (aefestival.gr). Drawing inspiration from philosophy, theology, poetry, literature and painting, the performance is an investigation of silence as a medium of self-discovery and a unique way of experiencing the world.