ATHENS — While some Greek men in the arts are facing unspecified charges of sexually harassing female colleagues, noted actor-director George Kimoulis has been dropped from taking part in the Athens and Epidaurus Festivals for being too rough verbally with peers.

In a statement, the organizers said he won’t be in this year’s lineup – the details uncertain during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – because of accusations of mental and verbal abuse from his colleagues.

The festival’s management said there were many accusations but that it wasn’t trying “to act vindictively, nor to replace the courts,” the statement said but felt compelled to drop him anyway, some critics speaking publicly.

Kimoulis was scheduled to appear in Sophocles’ Philoctetes at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus this summer and managers are trying to work out how the show will go on without him.

Kimoulis, widely regarded as one of Greece’s pre-eminent actors, was recently accused by actor Zeta Douka of intense verbal abuse, even alleging that he kicked her during a performance.

Following her account, at least eight other actors, both male and female, came forward to accuse Kimoulis of similar behavior, said Kathimerini in a report on the growing developments in the arts scene.

The Athens and Epidaurus Festival is one of Greece’s biggest annual cultural events, featuring many acclaimed Greek and international artists and groups, the paper added of its significance.