HIPPOLYTUS National Theatre of Greece - Athens Epidaurus Festival Lykofos

The clash between human will and divine power, brought to life by Greece’s top theatre talents in a contemporary take on Euripides’ classic play

Greece’s premier theatre company revisits one of mythology’s greatest tragic heroes in Hippolytus, a daring production that puts a contemporary spin on an ancient classic about the existential conflict between human will and divine power.

Based on Euripides’ classic play, Hippolytus is centred on its titular protagonist, the illegitimate son of Theseus and an avowed upholder of chastity, whose moralistic rejection of carnal desire offends Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To punish him, the vengeful goddess makes his stepmother fall in love with him, marking the beginning of his downfall.

The production focuses on Aphrodite, who watches with voyeuristic pleasure as mortals become playthings of her vengeful whims. Her gaze becomes ours as the characters are stripped bare, their naked bodies conveying the explosiveness, lust and lasciviousness—but also the purity—of the human race.

By juxtaposing the binaries of abstinence and lust, the sacred and the profane, and disgrace and redemption, Hippolytus delves unflinchingly into complex psychological and moral issues with a modern sensibility while asking the age-old question: who is responsible for tragedy, gods or men?

This 2023 production is helmed by the distinguished stage director and artistic director of the Athens Epidaurus Festival Katerina Evangelatos with the support of a superb creative team and a 20-strong cast of actors, chorus and musicians. It’s a large-scale Greek tragedy rarely seen on Hong Kong stage and is not to be missed!