Program for 2016 Athens and Epidaurus Festival unveiled
Vangelis Theodoropoulos, artistic director of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, on Monday unveiled program details for Greece’s largest and most respected cultural event, which will run from mid-June through mid-August.
Up to 80 productions will be showcased at this year’s event, which takes place at a number of venues, including the two ancient theaters in Epidaurus, the Herod Atticus Theater and the cluster of former industrial buildings at 260 Pireos Street in Athens.
Budget constraints and an extremely tight time frame following the controversial resignation of Belgian multidisciplinary artist Jan Fabre forced Theodoropoulos, a veteran director, and his team to put together a relatively low-key program with few standout international names.
While most of the festival comprises theater, the program also includes 20 music concerts, 10 dance performances, and visual arts exhibitions.
The festival will be paying tribute to William Shakespeare on the quadricentennial of his death, most notably with the staging of Romeo Castellucci’s “Julius Caesar. Spare Parts,” based on Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar.”
Up to 25 percent of this year’s budget will go toward covering debts remaining from the 2015 program, estimated at 1.6 million euros, organizers said.
