An Avant-Garde Production of Euripides’ Medea at the BA
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Alexandria—
The BA will hold, on 27 November 2008, a performance of the classical Greek playwright Euripides’ Medea as interpreted by director Katarina Paliou for the Theatre Arcadia organization, an NGO affiliated with the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hellenic International Development Cooperation Department and Hellenic Aid.
The director’s vision for the production is inspired by the role of Greek tragedy as a vehicle for understanding the human psyche, which has now been replaced by psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
The Chorus is composed by students of the University of Alexandria, the Theatrical Studies Department, the English Language and Literature Department of the Faculty of Arts as well as the Faculty of Law. Part of the chorus’ lines are spoken in Arabic, a language inexorably intertwined with the survival of Greek culture and its reintegration with Western thought.
The music, composed by Effie Ratsou, is performed live on stage by the BA Chamber Orchestra (BACO), composed by strings and percussion, conducted by maestro Sherif Mohie Eldin.
Theatre Arcadia was founded in 2002, by Katarina Paliou, Director, Theatrical Writer and Actress, and Lydia Palla, Theatrologist and Actress. Mainly, it presents Ancient Greek tragedies in classical and avant-garde versions, in International and Greek theatre stages. The organization aims at promoting the Ancient Greek and, in general, the European tradition, in order to create the closer contact and dialogue between cultures and nations. For more information on Theater Arcadia, visit www.theatrearcadia.com.
The performance will take place at 8:30 pm, at the BA Conference Center Great Hall.