The Athens Epidaurus Festival, celebrating its 70th anniversary, has established itself as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions. During a three-month artistic journey (May-August 2025), 273,000 spectators—an unprecedented number in its history—flocked to the Athenian stages and the two ancient theaters of Epidaurus, watching 107 unique productions, with the participation of nearly 3,000 artists from around the world.

With record ticket sales exceeding €7,800,000, the Festival ended triumphantly and is within the approved budgetary targets for 2025, recording a significant surplus that strengthens the Organization’s sustainability for the next period.

The program, curated by Artistic Director Katerina Evangelatos, in her last year at the helm of the Festival, included important world premieres, international collaborations, leading performers, original actions, and groundbreaking initiatives. In 2025, a landmark year for the Festival, the legacy of ancient drama was highlighted through contemporary interpretations, emphasizing dramaturgical identity through the creation of cycles, with different generations of artists engaging in creative dialogue through their work, while important infrastructure projects were announced as a legacy for future generations of artists and audiences.

Significant Artistic Moments of the 2025 Festival

At the forefront of the Festival’s program, the four anniversary productions at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus stood out, warmly embraced by the audience and sparking numerous discussions. The spectators who filled the performances rewarded the creators with enthusiastic applause and touching reactions. This year’s program in Epidaurus began with Antigone, co-produced with the National Theatre and directed by one of the most exciting German directors, Ulrich Rasche. The iconic play was presented in a world premiere with a brilliant cast of Greek actors, exclusively at the Argolic theatre and, exceptionally, for three days only. Following this, a particularly significant and extremely rare event took place at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus: a concert by the highly acclaimed maestro Theodoros Kourentzis, who conducted the Utopia orchestra in Gustav Mahler’s Songs on the Death of Children and Symphony No. 4. The European Oath by internationally renowned Wajdi Mouawad, featuring the award-winning Juliette Binoche and five prominent actors—Violette Chauveau, Danae Epithymiadi, Daria Pisareva, Leora Rivlin, and Emmanuel Schwartz—brought to the stage of the Argolic theatre (in co-production with La Colline – Théâtre National) a work that grappled with the dark root of violence, exploring its origin in the mythological core of Europe. The performance received rave reviews both from the Greek and international press. Yannis Houvardas brought Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus and Oedipus at Colonus to the stage of the Ancient Theatre as a single production, in a co-production between the Festival and the Cultural Organization Lykofos. Under the direction of this great Greek director, a group of prominent actors and creators narrated the moving story of Oedipus, starting from the end and moving back to the beginning of the tragedy.

At the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the audience enjoyed some of the world’s most important soloists and conductors, as well as top orchestras. From the Munich Philharmonic under the direction of Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the violin soloist Hilary Hahn, the Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, the acclaimed conductor Konstantinos Karydis, to internationally renowned pianists Francesco Piemontesi and Daniil Trifonov, the famous pianist and composer Max Richter, the pioneers of electronic music Air, and the great Emanuel Ax under the direction of Loukas Karytinos. Special moments in this year’s Herodeion program included Hippolytus by Katerina Evangelatos, which received standing ovations over two sold-out nights, as well as the dance performance Impermanence by the Sydney Dance Company.

The Festival opened with one of the most talked-about performances of the year, at the beloved venue of the Athenian audience, Pireos 260. The legendary Ariane Mnouchkine and her famous company Théâtre du Soleil presented the production Hic sunt Dracones / Here Be Dragons, which unfolded the story of the October Revolution while simultaneously focusing on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Notable highlights included the Australian actors of Back to Back Theatre, who identify as people with intellectual disabilities or neurodiverse, with the performance The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes; the Mozambican Idio Chichava with the dance piece Vagabundus; the Handspring Puppet Company and the multifaceted William Kentridge with Faustus in Africa!; the American choreographer Faye Driscoll with the captivating Weathering; as well as Carolina Bianchi with the daring performance The Bride and ‘Goodnight, Cinderella’, which made a strong impression. Distinctive marks were left by the shows The Years by Eline Arbo, based on the novel of the same name by Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux, and the theatrical adaptation of The Vegetarian by Daria Deflorian, based on the book by another Nobel laureate, Han Kang. The Greek program at Pireos 260 also featured artists with diverse theatrical languages, who highlighted literary texts as well as original theatrical creations.

July at the Small Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus combined Ancient Drama with contemporary creation within the successful Contemporary Ancients series, which this year, in its fifth season, expanded to include new forms such as cinema and musical theatre. Creators like Christos Stergioglou with Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis, Giannis Skourletis in texts by Giannis Palavos and Aris Alexandris, and Olia Lazaridou in a text by Kyriakos Charitos, presented contemporary theatre and music performances as part of the series. A special moment was the premiere of the film Electra 7, a collaboration between the Festival and the Hellenic Film Academy.

August at the Small Theatre was dedicated to music, featuring high-quality concerts with a broad-ranging repertoire. From Mikis Theodorakis and Astor Piazzolla to the songs of the interwar period, acclaimed artists such as Maria Farantouri, Tassos Christogiannopoulos, Aliki Kayaloglou, Miltos Logiadis, as well as representatives of the newer music scene, offered unforgettable musical moments to the audience of the Small Epidaurus.

Subset 

The Subset Festival at the Athens Odeon featured innovative musical ensembles, both established and emerging, from Greek and international contemporary music scenes. Notable artists included Ryoji Ikeda, Mouse on Mars, Christina Vantzou, Carmen Villain, Lyra Pramuk as well as Greek musicians Dimitris Kamarotos, Philippos Tsalachouris, and Theodoros Lotis among others. The festival presented these performances from June 4 to June 8, 2025, at various venues of the Athens Conservatoire, including concerts, visual and sound installations, and open workshops. It was curated to foster collaboration across disciplines and showcase a wide range of contemporary music creations.

Modern Venues

The Athens Epidaurus Festival 2025 returned dynamically this year to the Municipal Theatre of Lycabettus in collaboration with the Municipality of Athens and Technopolis. The Festival held four distinct contemporary music concerts there, embracing younger generations of spectators and presenting renowned artists from Greece and abroad, including Arca, Nalyssa Green, and Spiritualized.

Other new venues hosting Festival productions this year included Theatre of Art, Stathmos Theatre, the Lighthouse and the Dome of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), and the Hadrian’s Aqueduct.

For the first time in its history, the Festival included a very important theatrical action featuring performers who are prisoners. Committed to inclusion and ensuring that every voice, even those often marginalized, has a platform to be heard, the Festival presented a new work with significant social impact that deeply moved those who watched it: 19 inmates from the Eleonas Thebes Prisoners’ Addiction Recovery Center “EPILOGI,” participating in the Prisoners’ Personal Development Workshop (implemented by the National Theatre), created under the guidance of facilitator/director Stathis Grapsas the experiential, interactive theatrical performance DOG TAGS. The show was sold out in all six of its performances.

These developments highlight the Festival’s bold collaborations with new spaces and social initiatives in 2025

Culture for Everyone

The Festival, believing that art should be open, welcoming, and equal, and with the goal of unimpeded audiovisual viewing for everyone and everything, has included four universally accessible theatrical performances in its anniversary program this year. With the valuable collaboration of ATLAS E.P. and the cultural organization liminal, and using tools such as Greek sign language interpretation, surtitles, tactile tours, and audio description, the performances were designed to appeal to every viewer, without exclusion.

Anniversary events and productions of the Festival on the occasion of its 70 years of continuous presence in Culture

In addition to the Epidaurus anniversary program with four major productions designed specifically for the 70th anniversary celebration, a series of initiatives and interventions were carried out to mark the 2025 Anniversary Year.

Pavilion—An important infrastructure project bequeathed by the Athens and Epidaurus Festival to future generations

Celebrating 70 years of operation, the Festival presented the Pavilion, an infrastructure project within the Epidaurus site. A valuable contributor to the project was the Public Power Corporation (PPC), a strategic ally of the Festival, which in recent years has been investing in initiatives that promote cultural life in Greece. With the Pavilion, which will serve as a meeting point, a place of creation and a hub for the Festival’s activities, the institution is expanding its physical and symbolic presence in the archaeological site of Epidaurus, investing in modern infrastructure that serves art, collaboration, and respect for our cultural heritage.

A documentary through the eyes of the Festival’s people

The faces of the Festival (artists, actors, directors, set designers, costume designers, theater scholars, artistic directors, musicians, archaeologists, historians, translators, employees) guide us through some of the most fascinating moments of its 70-year journey with the creation of the documentary Through Their Eyes. They share facts and feelings through videotaped performances, rare photographs, programs, posters, shots from dressing rooms, theaters, and event venues, and valuable personal testimonies. After its premiere, the documentary will travel throughout the country and abroad, and will be shown in cinemas and on television networks.

An important album commemorating 70 years of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival

The anniversary volume, edited by Panos Giannikopoulos, which will be released in September, will highlight the Festival’s rich archive, showcasing performances, artistic exchanges, and cultural shifts. Through multiple interpretations of different archival materials, it presents the archive as a space for encounter, transformation, and intense artistic and social ferment. Programs, photographs, notes, critical texts, and artistic interventions intertwine, forming a multi-layered narrative that transcends conventional historical approaches.

Athens Epidaurus Festival and Objects of Common Interest studio: a bright collaboration

To mark its 70th anniversary, the Festival expanded its areas of activity and commissioned the award-winning design studio Objects of Common Interest to create a visual-lighting project. The original installation is located in the garden of 260 Piraeus Street to mark the bright anniversary. It consists of tube lights in various shapes that can be configured in countless ways, while embracing the building of space D with their light and curves, creating a new landscape and activating the space with a dynamic interaction of height and form. The project will remain at Piraeus 260.

GRAPE 2025: A “passport” to the world

The grape – Greek Agora of Performance, an initiative by Katerina Evangelatos for the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, was created three years ago in response to the artistic community’s long-standing request for the dynamic promotion of Greek performing arts abroad. Greek artists present new works to representatives of international organizations who come to Greece at the invitation of the Festival with the aim of selecting productions to include in their own artistic programs and to learn about the Greek theater and dance scene in general.

Grape 2025 impressed with its large turnout of guests: more than 70 artistic directors, curators, and representatives of major festivals and cultural organizations from 40 countries in Europe, Asia, the USA, and South America responded to the Festival’s invitation and gathered in Athens in July, where they watched new works by talented representatives of the Greek performing arts. Some of the leading international organizations represented are: Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque Madrid (Spain), Festival FIND / Schaubühne Berlin (Germany), Helsinki Festival (Finland), Hong Kong Arts Festival (Hong Kong), İstanbul Theatre Festival İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (Turkey), KVS Brussels (Belgium), La Filature, Scène nationale de Mulhouse (France), MITsp – São Paulo International Theater Festival (Brazil), Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe (France), Sadler’s Wells, United Kingdom, The Aranya Theater Festival (China). The eight creators of this year’s grape were: Daphne Antoniadou, Sofia Antoniou, Patricia Apergi, Noemi Vassiliadou, Katerina Giannopoulou, Konstantinos Dellas, Konstantinos Papanikolaou, Yannis Skourletis-bijoux de kant.

The public has embraced grape, resulting in high participation in the voting for the “Mastercard – National Bank Audience Award,” which will be awarded to the three productions that received the most votes from viewers, along with a cash prize.

As part of this year’s grape, the Festival has joined forces with the European Festivals Association, of which it is a member, to organize the international forum Fearless Festivals. With the participation of directors of leading festivals from around the world and prominent Greek artists and theorists of theater and dance, the forum highlighted the role of festivals as crucial spaces for free expression, experimentation, and broadening public discourse.

The Festival producer of the film “Electra 7”

This year, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival joined forces with the Greek Film Academy to create a film inspired by Sophocles’ Electra and screened at the Small Theater of Epidaurus. Part of the successful Contemporary Ancients cycle, which this year expanded to include the art of cinema, the film Electra 7, written by Panagiotis Christopoulos, consists of seven chapters, each directed by seven distinguished directors (Alexandros Voulgaris, Sophia Exarchou, Neritan Zinziria, Christina Ioakimidi, Babis Makridis, Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Elina Psykou). The film was produced with the generous sponsorship of the Public Power Corporation.