A Greek theater group at the youth festival of Ancient Greek Theater in Sicily
The Group of the Theatrical Workshop of Irene Evangelatos represents Greece with the play “Eumenides” of Aeschylus, among 98 participations worldwide at the 23rd Youth Festival of Ancient Greek Theater in Sicily as part of the 53rd Syracuse Greek Theatre Festival at the Ancient Greek Theater of Syracuse.
The representations program includes the production and staging of the tragedies “Seven Against Thebes” Aeschylus and “Phoenician” Euripides and comedy “Frogs” Aristophanes . The two tragedies will alternate from May 6 to 25 June then, after three days of rest, and from June 29 to July 8 comedy “Rane” which will be staged, for a total of 54 representations. On June 19, also there will be a World Refugee Day , civil commitment tribute in which the Syracuse territory is constantly at the forefront.
The three new productions are directed by important directors of Italian theater :
- Marco Baliani will direct “Seven Against Thebes”, tragedy will be staged for the fourth time in Syracuse after the preparations of the 1924, 1966 and 2005;
- Valerio Binasco will “Phoenician” scene, the intense work of Euripides who returns to Syracuse at a distance of 49 years from the only representation in 1968;
- Giorgio Barberio Corsetti has been assigned “Frogs”, inserted in the bill of classic plays for the third time after 1976 and 2002.
The Greek Theater, built back in the fifth century BC, is located inside the Neapolis Archaeological Park, a natural area full of archaeological artefacts belonging to several periods of the history of Syracuse. For the amount and relevance of its monuments is considered one of the most important archeological sites in Sicily and among the largest in the Mediterranean. Starting from 1914 the National Institute of Ancient Drama (INDA) has opened inside the representations of Greek works (the first was the tragedy Agamemnon of Aeschylus, directed by Ettore Romagnoli). Because of the importance of representations in 1930, King Vittorio Emanuele III visiting Syracuse assist to one of the performances at the greek theater.
In 2012, the Theatrical Workshop of Irene Evangelatos participated in the Festival, representing Nafpaktos, with the work “Troads” by Euripides and won an honorary distinction. In 2013 tthe group opened the Ancient Drama Festival with Aristophanes’ Lyssistrate.