The 2010 Athens – Epidaurus Festival has ended, and festival organizers won’t announce the 2011 Athens Epidaurus Festival program for summer 2011 until sometime in late March 2011. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still experience some of the festival’s amazing performances. Many of the performers, both singers who’ve appeared at the Herodeon as well as the acting troupes who perform the classical Greek plays every summer at Ancient Epidaurus don’t stop performing just because the Athens Festival is over. Instead you’ll find them on stage at places like the International Petra Festival and the Elefsina Olive Mill in August and September, as well as in theaters and on stages throughout the city from October through May. As you plan your visit to Greece, don’t be disappointed that you can’t see live Greek theater (the classics by Aristophanes and Sophacles are quite meaningful even if you don’t understand the words, the storylines are available in plain English online from plenty of sources, so once you’ve read the story you can enjoy the experience, the rhythm of the language, the actor’s movements and the audiences reactions, without losing any of the true meaning (think of opera before or without super-titles). And best of all when you see these performances from September on the nights will be cooler, the seats not so burning hot and the ticket prices way more economical.
