The Athens Epidaurus Festival, Greece’s leading cultural organization and one of the oldest continuously running festivals in Europe, is celebrating its 70th anniversary and has just rolled out its special anniversary program, welcoming prominent figures of the Arts while offering a platform to voices of the younger generation.
This year’s line up features a number of international and national productions scheduled for the summer, from timeless tragedies to contemporary works, with 3,000 top Greek and international artists featured in 107 productions that will span 95 days of events, starting in June. Several national and international performances are set to take place at Greece’s iconic Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and at the historic Little Theater of Epidaurus, with ancient drama remaining a cornerstone of the Festival.
“For seven decades, the Festival has served as a compass of cultural vitality, an ideal scenery from where the voice of Ancient Drama is transmitted across the contemporary world. A place where Theater, Music, and Dance converge through innovative performances that engage with eternal existential quests while fostering thriving communities,” Katerina Evangelatos, Artistic Director of the Festival says.
The Festival will kick off its celebratory 70th anniversary on June 27 at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus with the world premiere of Sophocles’ Antigone, an international production by renowned German director Ulrich Rasche. Also, leading an international cast, celebrated French film actress Juliette Binoche will perform for the first time on the stage of Epidaurus as part of the Festival’s signature initiative of Contemporary Ancients Cycle. Another much-awaited production at the ancient theater is distinguished Lebanese-Canadian Wajdi Mouawad’s Europa’s Pledge, presenting an ominous travelogue of Lebanon through the lens of a traumatic family history.
For the first time, young Greek creators as well as trailblazing voices from the international stage will present original works of Theater and Dance at Peiraios 260 in Athens, where the spotlight is reserved for women. This cluster of venues, which the Festival discovered and activated 20 years ago, has since become a symbol of the innovative spirit in Greece’s performing arts scene. For its 70th anniversary, the Festival will also feature some legendary figures such as the iconic Ariane Mnouchkine, and the reknowned Theatre du Soleil, which will inaugurate the program at Peiraios 260.
Meanwhile, masters of theatrical art such as Theodoros Terzopoulos, Yiannis Houvardas, and Michail Marmarinos will bring their creations to the stage of Epidaurus.
“At the heart of this year’s programming lies the representation of as many artisitic disciplines and languages as possible across all venues,” Evangelatos says. “Visual installations, cinema, roundtables and summer live performances featuring sounds from all over the world are woven into our activities, embracing every breath of artistic expression, diverse forms, dramaturgies, repertoires and creative contributors.”
Moreover, in a rare musical presentation at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, outstanding conductor Teodor Currentzis will confront the grandeur of the Mahlerian oeuvre in the orchestra of the ancient theater.
To view the full program of the 2025 Athens Epidaurus Festival, you can visit its official website here.
