“An Introduction to Greece’s Ancient Theatres” | Aristophanes’ Plutus tours 16 theatres throughout Greece

12.6.2024

In the summer of 2024, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the National Theatre of Greece is partnering with the Diazoma Association to launch the programme “An Introduction to Greece’s Ancient Theatres”. From July to September, this innovative initiative to spotlight Greece’s surviving ancient theatres comprises a tour of Aristophanes’ Plutus, translated by Dimosthenis Papamarkos and directed by Manos Vavadakis, with a company of talented artists from the new generation of Greek actors.

About “An Introduction to Greece’s Ancient Theatres”

The National Theatre of Greece, in close collaboration with the Diazoma Association, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, which has warmly embraced the initiative, and with the help of regional and local governments, is going beyond its narrow geographical boundaries to meet its audience in 16 cultural venues throughout Greece.

With natural light and sound, the last surviving work of Aristophanes, Plutus, which elegantly crowns the poet’s experimentation with the comic genre, will be presented in the following ancient theatres in Greece: Aigeira, Amvrakia, Arcadian Orchomenos, Arta, Gitana, Gythio, Demetrias, Eretria, Zea, Thoricus, Kabireion of Thebes, Cassope, Maroneia, Mieza, Orchomenus in Boeotia, Pleurona and the Ecclesiasterion of Messene.

This represents a felicitous connection of modern culture with the monuments of our cultural heritage and at the same time a valuable synergy between cultural bodies to make theatre and some of its natural spaces central to the life of local communities.

About Plutus

Old Chremylus goes to the oracle of Delphi to ask Apollo if he should raise his son by teaching him the value of injustice, thereby ensuring his future prosperity. The god does not answer directly, but urges him to follow the first person he sees when he leaves the temple. Taking Apollo’s advice, Chremylus finds himself hot on the heels of an old blind man. With the help of his slave, Carion, he discovers that the man is actually Plutus, the god of wealth. Chremylus plans to cure Plutus’s blindness with the help of the god of healing, Asclepius, so that he can fairly distribute his gifts to the virtuous citizens. The goddess of poverty, Penia, who has championed the city until now, tries to stop them, reminding Chremylus – but also the audience – of the need and value of a life lived in moderation. However, Penia will lose the argument hands down.

Asclepius performs his miracle and Plutus regains his sight, and with it his wits. Chremylus’s house is packed with visitors to his guest. The new situation has not only changed the balance of society but has also brought disruption to Mount Olympus. Hermes, the messenger of the gods, has no work, and asks for help from Plutus, while the priest at the temple of Zeus is starving because the Athenians have stopped making sacrifices to the god. Finally, good sense prevails and Plutus, accompanied by the Chorus, is led back to his old home, at the back of the temple of Athena in the Parthenon, where the city’s coffers are kept.

Plutus (338 BC), the last of Aristophanes’ surviving comedies, abandons the structure and motifs of Old Comedy, marking a shift to New Comedy. Aristophanes removes the choric interludes, the parabasis and the sting of derisive jokes from his play, turning his attention to the problems of everyday life.

Director’s note

The blind god, Plutus, regains his sight and shares the wealth equally in society. An early socialist or just nostalgic for a lost golden age? The play, written in 388 BC, after the defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, suggests another Aristophanian utopia. But is a society whose material needs are fully met a happy one? Does individual prosperity precede social well-being? When is one truly free? When do the bonds of happiness break?

In this late-period play, the presence of the Chorus is negligible; it is a simple observer of developments. A Chorus that is absent is symbolic of a city that is indifferent. A small company of actors travels around Greece, inviting audiences to a new gathering in places where society once went for entertainment, debated, and made decisions. It invites us to listen together, to laugh together, and ultimately to return to being together, abandoning technological (or any other kind of) loneliness

Manos Vavadakis

Plutus at the National Theatre of Greece

1965 directed by Leonidas Trivizas in a translation by Kostas Varnalis at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Expo Theatre in Montreal.
1982 directed by Kanellos Apostolou in a translation by Kostas Varnalis at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.
1985 directed by Luca Ronconi in a translation by Kostas Varnalis at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.
1994 directed by Stamatis Fasoulis in a translation by Kostas Georgousopoulos at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Archaeological Site of Eleusis and the Ancient theatre of Oeniades.

Note Entry to all venues is free with tickets that will be distributed one hour before the performances begin. Entry to the Ancient Theatre of Amvrakia is free. At the venues marked with an asterisk (*), the price of entry to the archaeological site will be paid

Production team
Translation and adaptation: Dimosthenis Papamarkos
Direction and adaptation: Manos Vavadakis
Set and costumes: Gina Iliopoulou and Lina Stavropoulou
Original music: Dimitris Tasenas
Movement: Myrto Grapsa
Music coach: Melina Paionidou
Dramaturg: Vivi Spathoula
Directing assistant: Aris Laskos
Design assistant: Alexandra - Anastasia Ftouli

Cast: Nikos Gialelis, Katerina Papandreou, Katerina Patsiani, Elina Rizou, Vasilis Safos

Photographs: Elina Giounanli

Running time: 60 minutes

Many thanks to the Municipalities of Thebes, Maroneia-Sapon, Naoussa, Filiaton, Preveza, Arta, Messolonghi, Aigialeia, Tripoli, Messina, Gythio, Orchomenus in Boeotia, Lavreotiki, Eretria, Arta, Piraeus and to the Region of Thessaly.

With the support of