EPIDAURUS – Aeschylus’ The Persians, the first performance of an ancient drama at Epidaurus in the post-Covid era, premieres on Friday, 24 July 2020. The production, helmed by the Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Greece, Dimitris Lignadis, will be live-streamed worldwide, with the exception of Greece, on Saturday 25 July, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sport, as part of this year's Athens and Epidaurus Festival. In this way, anyone who is unable to travel to Greece because of the pandemic will have the opportunity to see the play performed live in the most beautiful theatre in the world, in the country where western drama was born. Of course, streaming cannot replace the experience of going to the theatre and being present in the moment of the performance. The live interaction between actors and audience will always be unique and that is why we encourage those who are in Greece to go to the theatre.

The Persians is the oldest drama that has survived in full and is at the same time a historical account of the most important conflict in the second Persian invasion of Greece, the Battle of Salamis, which took place exactly 2500 years ago.

The performance, which lasts about 90 minutes, will be live-streamed at 9pm Greek time on Saturday 25 July, in partnership with Google Greece. It will be available worldwide, with the exception of Greece, exclusively through YouTube, with English subtitles. It will be available at livefromepidaurus.gr and will also be accessible through the websites of the National Theatre of Greece (NTG), the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, and the Ministry of Culture and Sport, as well as directly via the NTG channel on YouTube.

As has already been announced, the performance will be available for free and anyone who wishes to do so, will be able to make a donation to support the National Theatre of Greece, its artistic needs and human capital. International donations can only be made through a special application hosted on livefromepidaurus.gr.