“The Wasps” freely adapted by Lena Kitsopoulou from the play by Aristophanes Directed by: Lena Kitsopoulou A co-production of the National Theatre of Northern Greece with the National Theatre of Greece Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus: Friday 14 & Saturday 15 August 2023 Athens Epidaurus Festival 2023 Forest (Dasous) Theatre: Τuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 July 2023 9th Forest (Dasous) Festival Tour: July - September 2023 Rating: +15 Duration: 100min Aristophanes’ comedy “The Wasps”, a play rarely performed in Greece, is being staged by the NTG – for the fir for the first time since Alexis Solomos directed it sixty years ago – in a modern version directed by Lena Kitsopoulou. The maverick Kitsopoulou, who has freely adapted the play, heads up a superb team of creatives and actors in her first production at Epidaurus, taking on a work that reflects on the ills of our democracy and the cracks in our system of justice.
In “The Wasps”, as so often, Aristophanes uses comedy as a means of satirising a deeply political issue with unsurpassed acuity: on this occasion the erosion of the judicial system, which was the cornerstone of popular sovereignty in ancient Athens. At the centre of the play is a spiteful old volunteer juror who loves nothing better than a trial – especially one that results in a conviction. His son, on the other hand, despairs at the crumbling stipend-based court system, while the chorus of sharply stinging ‘wasps’, whose insatiable appetite for censure betrays no inclination towards self-criticism, represents a society trapped in a suffocating cocoon of discord and malice, twisting and squirming as it unleashes volleys of invective and ends up feeding on its own poison.
In this version, Lena Kitsopoulou examines the modern ‘wasps’ who sit in the court of popular opinion on television and social media. With acerbic wit and parodic flair, she illuminates the systemic rot and slumbering defences that characterise society today, with all its bigotry, fanaticism, and rigid political correctness. The director sums up this attitude as follows: “I condemn you on my TV show, on my mobile phone, and in public, no matter where I am and no matter where I go. And take good note of this: whoever doesn’t agree with me is a fascist and is guilty by association. My accusations define me. I accuse therefore I am!” This production brilliantly shows us both the mire that we risk sinking into, and its reverse, the ideal to which we should aspire.
Credits Translated by: Stelios Chronopoulos, Freely adapted & directed by: Lena Kitsopoulou, Set & costume design: Magdalini Avgerinou, Music: Nikos Kypourgos, Choreography: Amalia Bennet, Lighting design: Nikos Vlasopoulos, Sound design: Kostas Lolos, Music coach: Melina Paionidou, Dramaturg: Aspasia-Maria Alexiou, Assistant to the director: Marilena Moschou, 2nd Assistant to the director: Savina Tsafa, Assistant to the designer: Gina Iliopoulou, Music assistant: Alexis Kotsopoulos, Hair design: Konstantinos Koliousis Cast: Daphne David, Alexandros Zouridakis, Konstantinos Kapellidis, Nikos Karathanos, Lena Kitsopoulou, Giannis Kotsifas, Nikos Kousoulis, Alexis Kotsopoulos, Nefeli Maistrali, Sotiris Manikas, Nikolas Maragkopoulos, Ioanna Mavrea, Thanos Birkos, Dimitris Naziris, Panos Papadopoulos, Stefanos Pittas, Konstantinos Plemmenos, Marianna Pouregka, Thodoris Skyftoulis Musicians on-stage: Sofia Efkleidou, Vagelis Karipis, Evi Kanellou
Ticket pre-sale: www.aefestival.gr, www.viva.gr