Vachanki

Why this Bacchae matters now

Yavor Gardev’s staging folds scholarship, punk-cabaret energy and cross‑border collaboration into one bold reading of Euripides. A Greek–Bulgarian ensemble meets the cult British trio The Tiger Lillies, whose live score (Martyn Jacques, Adrian Stout, Budi Butenop) functions like a chorus of dark troubadours, propelling the drama rather than merely underscoring it. The production premiered at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus on July 10–11, 2026, before heading to Bulgaria for first performances announced in Plovdiv on September 30 and Sofia on October 9. Created in English, it’s presented with surtitles, so international visitors and local audiences track every turn of Gardev’s argument about order, frenzy and the politics of “the other.”

Look for the tactile craft behind the spectacle. Set designer Nikola Toromanov carves a ritual arena where masks, fur and instruments become extensions of character. Costumes by Ilenia Douladiri blur priest and reveler; Stella Kaltsou’s lighting swings from forensic cool to volcanic glare; Uršula Teržan’s choreography threads trance into the actors’ bodies without freezing the play into set pieces. The text you hear is Dorotea Tabakova’s translation/adaptation, with further shaping by Ioanna Remediaki and the directing team—clear, muscular English that never sands down Euripides’ danger.

Cast highlights underscore the production’s dialog between reason and rapture. Leonid Yovchev’s Dionysus works through seduction rather than thunder; Samuel Finzi’s Tiresias carries the patient wit of a lifetime of warnings; Michail Tabakakis’s Pentheus charts the ruler’s slip from surveillance to self‑exposure. Around them, a mixed chorus of Greek and Bulgarian performers fractures and reforms—sometimes crowd, sometimes conscience.

For context‑hungry theatregoers: The Bacchae was first performed after Euripides’ death in 405 BCE and won the City Dionysia. Gardev’s version refuses to treat it as a museum piece. Instead it asks how communities police ecstasy, what happens when power confuses control with safety, and why collective fever so often starts with an act of exclusion. Expect around two hours of tightly wound theatre where music, movement and text strike together—closer to a ritual than a recital.

• Language and access: performed in English with Bulgarian and English surtitles.
• Creative team shorthand: direction Yavor Gardev; music The Tiger Lillies; set Nikola Toromanov; costumes Ilenia Douladiri; lighting Stella Kaltsou; choreography Uršula Teržan.

If you’re exploring more contemporary stage offerings on our platform, you might also enjoy the dramatic tension of Kod Jalto or the sharp social satire of Bez garanciya. For a lighter detour, try the weekend vibe of Petak vecher.