The Trojan Women by Euripides | Adapted and directed by Eleni Efthymiou | accessible, for the first time in its history, to people with sensory disabilities

03.8.2026

The Trojan Women
by Euripides

Adapted and directed by Eleni Efthymiou

A uniquely inclusive theatrical experience at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus
— accessible, for the first time in its history,
to people with sensory disabilities

Tickets available from Monday 3 August here

“For the first time, it is not people who adapt to the space;
it is the space that adapts to welcome everyone.”

Argyro Chioti | Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Greece

On Saturday 1 August, an audience of more than 8,000 people gave a standing ovation lasting over ten minutes to the company of performers with and without disabilities and the creative team behind the National Theatre of Greece’s new staging of Euripides’ The Trojan Women, adapted and directed by Eleni Efthymiou. In her first outing at Epidaurus, Efthymiou brought out all the lyricism and communal spirit of this profoundly human play.

The next day, for the first time in its history, the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus was made accessible to people with sensory (visual and hearing) disabilities. The NTG brought The Trojan Women to Epidaurus as a poetic and deeply political production centred on inclusivity: a practical expression of a cultural policy that champions everyone’s right to access and participate in the arts, and a reminder that a theatre that has stood for more than two millennia can respond to contemporary needs and be accessible to all.

After its two performances at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, The Trojan Women will tour selected venues in Greece. Tickets go on sale on Monday 3 August.

The accessible performance for people with sensory disabilities on 2 August was originally to have taken place on 31 July but was rescheduled by the National Theatre of Greece and the Athens Epidaurus Festival performance due to safety concerns arising from wildfires.

About the production
Twenty-two performers of different ages, with and without disabilities – including three on-stage musicians and actors from the En Dynamei Ensemble – foreground the musicality of the play through different bodies, voices, and experiences. It is a distinctive reading of the play about the horror and absurdity of war, seen through the prism of the female body, which asserts its autonomy even under occupation.

The Trojan women who await their destiny in Eleni Efthymiou’s production are not only the beautiful, healthy members of the privileged royal family. They are also the girls, and the elderly and disabled women, who even before the sack of the city were denied the right to make their own decisions and were rarely allowed to tell their own stories. Captured after the fall of Troy, the women must also face their own responsibility, as the silent acceptance of war reveals its devastating consequences. It is now clear that neither the gods, nor myth, nor fate determine their lives. Despite their pain and despair in the face of disaster, the Trojan women endure their loss without surrendering. Words become their weapons of resistance – even at the very end – against the slavery and loss of identity that the new reality has in store for them. They stand tall and find their voices, their grief transformed into a fragile but tenacious form of rebellion, with their mutual support now their greatest strength.

Will the oppressed women of the world reclaim their right to self-determination? To scream their anger and hate, to laugh and lament amidst the chaos and the anguish? Will the women of Troy ever regain their physical autonomy?

Translation: Yannis Tsarouchis
Adaptation & Direction: Eleni Efthymiou
Dramaturgical advisor: Sophia Eftychiadou
Set designer: Evangelia Kirkine
Costume designer: Angelos Mentis
Music: Lefteris Veniadis
Movement: Tasos Papadopoulos
Lighting designer: Zoi Molyvda Fameli
Sound designer: Sofia Kamayianni
Music coach: Melina Peonidou
Production dramaturg: Eva Saraga

Directing assistant: Themis Theocharoglou
Set design assistant: Marianthi Radou
Costume design assistant: Despoina-Maria Zachariou

Lighting design assistant: Natasa Petropoulou
Second set design assistant: Taxiarchis Houmos

Artistic collaborators for the support of the En Dynamei team: Daphne Kafetzi, Angeliki Tobrou, Eleni Zachopoulou

The cast (in alphabetical order): Giorgos Christodoulou (Menelaus), Lydia Fotopoulou (Hecuba), Evi Saoulidou (Andromache), Nancy Sideri (Cassandra), Vassiliki Troufakou (Helen), Argyris Xafis (Talthybius)

Chorus: Myriam Sofia Artzanidou, Maria Dachlythra, Eleni Dimopoulou, Irini Kourouvani, Nikos Kyparissis, Loxandra Loukas, Lygeri Mitropoulou, Katerina Papandreou, Theano Papavasileiou, Niki Petala, Chryssa Toumanidou

They are joined by the young actors, Ana Tzoulaki Christodoulou and Michalis Mitsis, in the roles of Polyxena and Astyanax, respectively.

On-stage musicians: George Boukaouris (percussion), Sofia Kamayianni (piano), Sofianos Pesiridis (oboe)

Photographs: Karol Jarek
Trailer: Christos Symeonidis
Trailer here

Tickets from: ticketservices.gr

More information about accessibility at the 2 August performance.
The National Theatre of Greece provided free transportation to and from the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus for audience members with sensory disabilities. During the journey, the production’s dramaturg, Eva Saraga, provided detailed information about the history of Epidaurus, The Trojan Women, and Eleni Efthymiou’s production. In parallel, there was simultaneous interpretation into Greek Sign Language for deaf and hard of hearing people.

In addition, the accessibility team from Liminal guided audience members with visual impairments in exploring the tactile aids specially created for the production. These included a scale model of the set, with a variety of textured surfaces, and a collection of costume samples including fabrics and accessories corresponding to each character.

An audio file was also sent to audience members with visual impairments, containing detailed descriptions and information about the production. Finally, with the support of the Centre for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind (KEAT), they were given a free pamphlet containing information about the production in braille.

The National Theatre of Greece receives funding from the Ministry of Culture