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papas, Kostas Konstantinou, Aris Giannakas, Gian-
nis Buhayar, Argyris Makris, Antreas X Stefanou,
Giannos Xristofi, Giorgos Charalambous, Andreas
Vasileiadis, Nikolas Neofytou,Andreas Kestas, Stella
Kyriakidou, Anthi Kyriakidou, Eirini Charalambous,
NatassaAthanasiou, Sabrina Leonidou, CecaVarda
Launch of the International
Festival ofAncient Greek Drama
By Neophytos Neophytou
The launch of the International Festival of Ancient
Greek Drama 16 years ago was a decision by the
Board of Directors of the Cyprus Centre of the Inter-
national Theatre Institute (I.T.I.), following a sugges-
tionby thendirectorNicosShafkalis.Themotivation
was to give ancient Greek drama awider presence in
the theatrical activities of the island.What has estab-
lished the Festival as a distinct cultural event is its
international character. The performances, many of
which are original in their approach, cover thewhole
month of July every year now, but when the Festival
commenced 16 years ago at the PafosAncient Ode-
on, it lasted one week. At the time, the Festival was
organised by the Cyprus Centre of the I.T.I. and was
subsidised by the Ministry of Education and Cul-
ture’s Cultural Services, with support from the Pafos
Municipality. Today the Festival is co-organised by
the Cyprus Centre of the I.T.I., the Cultural Services
of theMinistry of Education andCulture and theCy-
prus Tourism Organisation, with additional support
from the Pafos Municipality and some other small
organisations. The Festival now takes place at the
Pafos Ancient Odeon, at the CuriumAncient Thea-
tre, Limassol, and at the Makarios IIIAmphitheatre,
Nicosia.
The performances project the uniqueness of ancient
Greek drama but also bear the intense colouring of
the culture of the country they come from. Thus the
audiences, which are international, as they com-
prise not only Cypriots but foreign visitors as well,
have the unique opportunity of experiencing ancient
Greek drama from different cultural perspectives
– this affirms both its specificity and its universal-
ity. All foreign language performances are subtitled
in English and Greek, and all Greek performances
have English subtitles.
The Centre has always believed that ancient Greek
drama, which is the wellspring of contemporary Eu-
ropean drama and a core element of the world’s cul-
tural heritage, has direct relevance to today’s world.
Rapid technological development makes it even
more crucial for us to find ways of using the capa-
bilities presented by the openAncient Greekmind to
reflect on our current reality.
The International Festival and the International Sym-
posium on Ancient Greek Drama and their com-
bined international repute strengthen the position of
Cyprus on the global cultural map and contribute to
intercultural dialogue. This dialogue helps preserve
cultural identity and promotes respect for diversity,
both of which are threatened by globalisation.
The philosophy behind these activities comprises
three goals: (a) the study of ancient drama as text
and discussion of stage approaches to ancient drama
in the context of contemporary reality; (b) the stage
performance of ancient drama, and (c) ancient dra-
ma as a vehicle for theatre education.
The first of these goals has been achieved by the In-
ternational Symposium on Ancient Greek Drama,
which was first established in 1990, but symposia
are restricted to a limited number of people – one
must be equipped with special qualifications to at-
tend them.Dramatic texts, however, valuable though
they may be as literature, cannot fulfil their purpose
completely unless they reach the wider public. And
this can be achieved only if they are translated dur-
ing stage performances. Therefore, the need tomake
ancient drama accessible to the wider public was
fulfilled with the establishment of the International
Festival ofAncient Greek Drama.
Our goal is to continuously upgrade the Festival
to bring our audiences performances of the high-
est quality.
Electra Morfes Ekfrasis