Bacchae

Bacchae description

Meet the Bacchae. These girls just want to have fun.

You won't find these Bacchae hanging around on the sidelines while the men have a good time. This band of stage-storming females is on a mission to cause mayhem and chaos in Thebes.

In Euripides' ancient play the chorus of Bacchae was a group of passive women who followed Dionysus around. Never directly involved in the action, they were only there to create feelings of drama and tension, invoking the god's power and predicting the fate of Pentheus. This production is based on the ancient Greek play celebrating the God of theatre and these exotic women, who represent the contrast between civilised and feral, are the stars of the show in this extraordinary play.

The Bacchae are busy marauding in the mountains. Their god Dionysus is taking part in his own “f*cked-up family Olympics”, determined to bring about the downfall of his cousin King Pentheus. And he's going to all this trouble just to show the Bacchae that he's about so much more than merely the wine, the rhymes and the good times.

The first ever debut play staged in the Olivier theatre and a brilliantly anarchic production, this marks a new era as Indhu Rubasingham (The Father and the Assassin) begins a new tenure as National Theatre Director. James McArdle (Mare of Easttown) stars along with Clare Perkins (EastEnders) and Ukweli Roach (Blindspot), Arethajay McEwen, Ebony Clarke, Fi Silverthorn, Jessey Stol, Kate Ivory Jordan, Melanie Joyce Bermudez, Sam Jenkins Shaw and Simon Startin. The set and costume design is by Robert Jones, lighting design by Oliver Fenwick, and the sound design by Ben and Max Ringham. The fight director is Kate Waters. Casting comes from Bryony Jarvis-Taylor CDG and Martin Poile CDG. The voice and dialect coach is Hazel Holder.

Buy tickets here for Nima Taleghani’s (Heartstopper) thrilling new version of Euripides’ tragedy, brought to vibrant life through rhythm, music and movement.

Playing at Olivier Theatre (National Theatre)

South Bank, London, SE1 9PX GB (venue info)

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