The first festival of ancient drama ‘POMPEII THEATRUM MUNDI’ will be held from 22nd June to 23rdJuly 2017 at the Teatro Grande in Pompeii including plays from ‘Oresteia’ to ‘Prometheia’, from ‘Antigone’ to ‘The Bacchae’ and ‘Phaedra’, directed by De Fusco, Luconi, De Rosa, Cerciello. It is a four-year project overseen by the Teatro Stabile of Naples/National Theatre and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii.
Conceived for the Teatro Grande in Pompeii, the four-year project ‘POMPEII THEATRUM MUNDI’ is the result of the collaboration between the Teatro Stabile of Naples/National Theatre and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. It comes after the reopening to the public of the Teatro Grande, and is part of a broader programme promoting the site.
From 22nd June to 23rd July, the stage of Pompeii’s theatre (built in the 2nd century BC) will be the setting of a series of ancient dramas. There will be a structured schedule, with four great dramas re-enacted before a vast audience in the enthralling atmosphere of Pompeii’s excavation sites.

Scheduled plays:

22nd – 25th June
‘Oresteia’ (‘Agamemnon’ and ‘The Libation Bearers’/’The Eumenide’)
The series will open on 22nd June with Aeschylus’ ‘Oresteia’ (‘Agamemnon’ and ‘The Libation Bearers’/’The Eumenide’), staged by Luca De Fusco and produced by the Teatro Stabile of Naples. ‘Oresteia’ is the only ancient Greek theatre trilogy to survive in its entirety. It will be on stage for four days (from 22nd to 25th June) on alternate days in two parts, ‘Agamemnon’ and ‘The Libation Bearers’/’The Eumenides’. After a two-year tour in Italy and abroad, the play now arrives at the Teatro Grande in Pompeii, where it was originally destined to premiere.

30th June – 6th July
‘Diptych’ directed by Massimo Luconi
‘Prometheia’ by Aeschylus (from 30th June to 2nd July)
This is the national debut starring the actor Luca Lazzareschi in the role of the great and mysterious mythological character. The play is produced by the Teatro Stabile of Naples and by the Campania dei Festival Foundation – Napoli Teatro Festival Italia.
‘Antigone. An African story’ by Jean Anouilh (5th and 6th July)
Performed in the French and Wolof language with Italian surtitles, this production originates from a three-year workshop run by the director Massimo Luconi in Senegal with young Senegalese actors.
A group of six actors from Senegal will be joined by some Senegalese chorists residing in Naples, Italy. The play is produced by Terzo piano theatre in cooperation with the French Cultural Institute Saint Louis and the Teatro Metastasio of Prato.

14Th – 16th July
‘The Bacchae’ by Euripides
The fourth scheduled event will be the national debut of ‘The Bacchae’ by Euripides, staged by the director Andrea De Rosa. “’God is dead’, wrote Nietzsche over a century ago and despite the absurd religious wars still looming on the horizon of recent history, that verdict seems final and irrevocable. But the sacred? The mysterious? Have they also disappeared from our lives forever?” The director continues, “Theatre is still the place where a god can come to life? Where we can listen to their voice and, above all, ask them questions?” The play is produced by the Teatro Stabile of Naples and the Teatro Stabile of Turin.

22Nd – 23rd July
‘Phaedra’ by Seneca
The series will close on 22nd and 23rd July with ‘Phaedra’ by Seneca, directed by Carlo Cerciello and translated by Maurizio Bettini. The show is produced by INDA (National Institute of Ancient Drama), an Onlus Foundation and will arrive in the unique and fascinating Teatro Grande in Pompeii after having premiered at the Teatro Greco in Syracuse, performed at the Teatro Antico in Segesta, in Taormina and in the Roman theatre in Ostia Antica.