Like a performance”Iphigenia at AulidisIn the almost full Antique Theater of Epidaurus last Saturday night, one thing was spinning in my head: when you have such a masterful, deeply humanistic text at your disposal, you have to … try hard enough to make them a sea. Luckily, Themis Mumulidis and the rest of the actors of Iphigenia this year did not fall into such traps, finally offering the viewer an integral performance, with its strengths and weaknesses, which nevertheless managed to convey to the stage the meaning and spirit of the ancient work.

And just as in the text of Euripides women stand out with dynamism, courage and clear thinking, so in the Saturday performance the main characters stood out: initially unusual Joanna Pappain impeccable form, in the very demanding role of Clytemnestra, but also Maria Petevi, famous for her role in the television series “Wild Bees”, but managed to defend her position in the “difficult” ancient theater by playing Iphigenia. In fact, she was the protagonist of the play’s dramatic climax, which Moumulidis handled with great audacity but (eventually) successfully, drawing spontaneous applause from the theatre. Very good in this particular scene and managing the dance of young girls, which, however, had its ups and downs in general, which emphasized its atmospheric music. Stavros Gasparatou.

The Saturday show featured female protagonists.

As for the male protagonists, everything is probably less positive here, although one cannot fail to note the special interpretation of Agamemnon by Lazaros Georgakopoulos. The seasoned actor created an indecisive commander-in-chief, a cross between wild (but sober) ambition and a nervous breakdown on the brink. And the irregular pauses in his speech reminded of the famous … dictators of History – and this, perhaps, is not a random choice.

In addition to its explicit anti-war character, Euripides’ text, especially in the first part, is a canonical – eternally relevant – study of the nature of power, its challenges and distortions. Moumulidis managed to emphasize this aspect in a simple way (for example, with a rather indifferent setting), and this is certainly one of his virtues. Thus ended this year’s summer season in Epidaurus to the warm applause of thousands of spectators who filled the hall and most of them left satisfied.