Cyprus: Greek drama on the island

This summer Cyprus welcomes all the fans of Melpomene. The traditional 16th International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama 2012 will be held on the island from 1 to 27 July. The festival takes place throughout the Greek part of Cyprus, but the main events and performances take place in Paphos Ancient Odeon (Paphos), Curium Theatre (Limassol) and Makarios III Amphitheatre (Nicosia).

This is a unique event in the world cultural calendar. All the pieces, which will be staged during the festival, are not only written about two and a half thousand years ago, but also played in Ancient Greek. The program, according to the tradition, will be opened by one of the Euripides plays, which will be performed by various troupes simultaneously at all the festival venues during the first day of the 16th International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama in 2012. Troupes from the Mediterranean and other world regions take part in the festival of ancient Greek drama. This year the event will host theaters from Germany, China, Italy, Romania, Israel, Greece, Slovakia and Russia. It is already known that the local troupe (Cyprus Academic Theatre) will stage performances by the Aeschylus’ piece Agamemnon and Aristophanes' work Lysistrata. All performances will begin at 19.00, while ticket prices will range from 8 to 17 Euros.

In addition to the ancient Greek performances festival guests can expect rich cultural program. Many historical museums will extend their working hours until midnight every day. A large number of fairs, exhibitions and presentations connected with the art of ancient Hellas will also be held at this time on Cyprus.