Wine, women and madness in modern version of Greek classic The Bacchae

A modern adaptation of the Greek classic, The Bacchae, will be staged at Druid’s Mick Lally Theatre in Galway City from Tuesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 18.

It’s being presented for the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, NUI Galway and Chekhov Training and Performance Ireland.

This translation of Euripides’ play is by David Greig and will be performed by final year and Masters students of the Drama programme at NUIG under the direction of Max Hafler.

Dionysus is the god of wine, madness and theatre and this tale in which he takes centre stage, explores the inevitable catastrophe that will ensue when people disobey or belittle nature. The Bacchae is a drama that exposes the potential consequences of ignoring the darker side of ourselves.

David Greig is one of Scotland’s most popular and prolific writers. His work, Midsummer, was previously staged at Galway International Arts Festival by Galway Youth Theatre and Galway Community Theatre. Meanwhile, The Monster in the Hall was presented by the NUIG BA Connect in Theatre and Performance Class at the  2014 Cúirt International Festival of Literature.

This is the first time David Greig’s version of The Bacchae is being performed in Ireland and it follows the sold-out productions of Yerma and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, also directed by Max Hafler in conjunction with NUIG.

Max has taught on the drama programme at NUIG since 2000 and has guested at MIT in Boston, Maine USA, and the Lir in Dublin. His book, Teaching Voice, was published by Nick Hern Books in 2016. He recently set up Chekhov Training and Performance Ireland. His other directing credits include The Duchess of Malfi, The Glass Menagerie and most recently, The Sacrificial Wind.

The Bacchae will be at The Mick Lally Theatre in Druid Lane, from February 14- 18 at 8pm nightly.

Tickets, €10/€8, from NUIG SocsBox, 091- 492852, and Druid druid.ticketsolve.com.