Ajax, central among Sophocles’ surviving tragedies, was written in peaceful times. However, the stage for the Peloponnesian War was already being set. Once an admired warrior on a par with Achilles, Ajax ends up becoming a deadly enemy of the army leaders and a pawn in the hands of gods, unable to grasp the spirit of a newly emerging era. This ancient tragedy does not recount the fall of a hero but his unique, posthumous redemption and glorification. Ajax marks Argyris Xafis' directorial debut at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.
With Greek and English surtitles
Translated by Nikos A. Panagiotopoulos
Directed by Argyris Xafis
Dramaturgy Aspasia-Maria Alexiou, Argyris Xafis
Set design Maria Panourgia
Costume design Ioanna Tsami
Music Kornilios Selamsis
Choreography Chara Kotsali
Lighting design Alekos Anastasiou
Assistant director Maria Savvidou
Vocal coaching Apostolos Kitsos
Dramaturg Aspasia-Maria Alexiou
First assistant to the director Maya Kyriazi
Second assistant to the director Vasiliki Athanasopoulou
Assistant to the set designer Sofia Theodoraki
Second assistant to the set designer Maria Stathopoulou
Assistant to the costume designer Ifigenia Daoudaki
Cast (in alphabetical order) Nikos Chatzopoulos (Agamemnon), Yannis Dalianis (Menelaus), Dimitris Imellos (Odysseus), Despina Kourti (Athena), Tasos Mikelis (Eurysaces), Evi Saoulidou (Tecmessa), Stathis Stamoulakatos (Ajax), Christos Stylianou (Teceur). Tasos Mikelis and Konstantinos Spanos portray little Eurysaces.
Chorus Asimina Anastasopoulou, Dimitris Georgiadis, Afroditi Katsarou, Erato Karathanasi, Fanis Kosmas, Lambros Konstanteas, Efstathia Lagiokapa, Alkiviadis Maggonas, Irene Boudali, Fotis Stratigos
Musicians on stage Manos Ventouras horn, Spyros Vergis trombone, Stefanos-Spyridon Dafnis trumpet, flugelhorn, Menelaos Moraitis tuba