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AJAX, THE MADNESS 16

Scenic composition based upon Ajax by Sophocles

AJAX, THE MADNESS

Attis Theatre – Athens, Greece

Director: Theodoros Terzopoulos

Performed in Greek with Hungarian and English subtitles.

55 minutes, without breaks.

Ajax, humiliated and furious by the wrong judgement of the Greek Court, which decided to donate Achilles’ weapons to odysseus instead of him, tried to take revenge on those who were unfair and insulted him. Goddess Athene unsettled his mind and Ajax, in a condition of madness, assaulted and slaughtered the Greek herds believing that they were his enemies Atreides. When he regained consciousness and realized his actions, he felt disgraced and humiliated and decided to commit suicide. Despite the efforts of his family and the chorus of Salaminian sailors,hewentalonetotheshoreofTroyandfellontohissword.Whilehisfamilywasmourning,Atreides’kings,MenelausandAgamemnon,forbadeAjax’bodytoreceiveaproperburial. However, odysseus intervened and convinced them to respect their dead enemy and allow him an honorable burial.

The performance Ajax, the madness is a result of Attis’ work and research upon some of the major topics of the tragedy Ajax by Sophocles, such as betrayal, wrath, madness, vengeance, suicide and guilt, an element that is absent from contemporary world.

The performance does not develop the whole text of the ancient tragedy Ajax by Sophocles, but those fragments narrating the murders that Ajax committed in a condition of unrighteous wrath. The messenger describes with lurid details how Ajax, blinded by his wrath and madness, got out of his tent, assaulted and slaughtered the animals, believing that they were men. The messenger’s narration revokes the image of the honorable hero and prepares the entrance of a bloodstained Ajax, while the chorus is trying, with his desperate questions, to understand the incomprehensible.

Színészek / Actors:

Tasos Dimas, Meletis Ilias, Savvas Stroumpos

Scenic composition, scenic design, costume design: Theodoros Terzopoulos
Lights: Theodoros Terzopoulos, Konstantinos Bethanis
​Technical manager: Konstantinos Bethanis
Stage manager: Charalampos Terzopoulos
Stage assistant: Dimitris Terzopoulos
Production manager, surtitles: Maria Vogiatzi
Photos: Johanna Weber

GH
Gobbi Hilda Stage
Theodoros Terzopoulos

Theodoros Terzopoulos

Theodoros Terzopoulos was born in Makrygialos village. He founded Attis Theatre Company in Delphi in 1985.

He has directed ancient tragedies, opera and the most leading modern plays in Greece and in famous theatres worldwide. Over 37 years he has presented more than 2200 performances worldwide. His approach to the classic Greek tragedy is part of the curriculum in Theatre Academies and Departments of Classical Studies. He leads many workshops, lectures about his method, and is an Emeritus professor in Academies and Universities. Since 2013 he has held the annual international summer workshop “The Return of Dionysus - The Method of Theodoros Terzopoulos” for young artists. He has received many international Theatre Awards. Books on his acting method and Attis Theatre, including The Return of Dionysus in which he explains his method, have been published in many languages.

He has been artistic director of theatre institutions, such as:
Director of the Drama School of the State Theatre of Northern Greece (1981-1983), Artistic Director of the International Meetings on Ancient Drama in Delphi (1985 – 1988, 1995 – 2004), Founding member of the International Institute of Mediterranean Theatre (since 1990),  Founder and Chairman of the International Committee of Theatre Olympics (since 1995), Founder and Artistic Director of the International Meetings of Ancient Drama in Sikyon Municipality (since 2005).

Photo: Johanna Weber

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