THEATER // Bakhandid / Masing & Horn

εὐοῖ εὐοῖ εὐοῖ
Io! Hear me, hear me as I call you.
Io! Bacchae! Io Bacchae!
Io! Io! I’m calling out again—
the son of Semele, a child of Zeus!

(...)

Ai! Soon Pentheus’ palace
will be shaken into rubble.
Dionysus is in the house—revere him.
We revere him, we revere him.

*"Bacchae" 575-590, translated by Ian Johnston

Pentheus, King of Thebes, refuses to believe that his nephew Dionysus is born of Zeus and tries to destroy the god of wine's cult. In response, Dionysus captures the minds of the Theban women, who leave their homes for the bacchanal. A brutal, orgiastic celebration ensues, destined to reach a tragic conclusion. The directors explore the climax of escapism in a society of vertical power relations: if in ancient Greece the cult leader Dionysus offered the necessary escape from reality, who/what replaces the god of wine now?

The main motifs of the production are:
(｡)(｡) gender and power relations.
(｡)(｡) faith
(｡)(｡) rituality
(｡)(｡) ecstasy.

The creative process will be preceded by public discussions at the beginning of 2024, organised by students of the University of Tartu’s Viljandi Culture Academy Faculty of Performing Arts, young people from Tartu 3D Church and the production team. The talks will be free of charge for everyone and will each focus on one of the central themes of the production.

Directors: Elina Masing, Liisbeth Horn
Creative producer: Greeta Võsu
Production assistent: Gertrud Soone
Dramaturge: Hendrik Kaljujärv

Performers: Elina Masing, Liisbeth Horn, students of the Performing Arts Department of Tartu University Viljandi Culture Academy (Aleks Mathias Viidik, Elina Soosaar, Getriin Kotsar, Gretten Vaga, Isabel Laiapea, Kärt Kokkota, Kristin Kalam, Keiti Leon, Oskar Viirand, Pamela Ebber, Ria Ranniku, Tuuli Torop)

Stage and costume design: Pire Sova
Sound design: Kenn-Eerik Kannike
Sound Technician: Laura Sinimäe
Lighting design: Karmi Pikkma

Partners: TARTU 2024, Aparaaditehas, University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy
Supported by: Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Cruffin Croissanterie, Cafe Puhvet, Kanarbiku Winery
The performance is in Estonian, with access to a written English translation.
Limited access for people with reduced mobility: the Gutenberg Hall is located on the 4th floor and is accessible only by stairs.

How to get to Aparaaditehas by public transport?
City bus stop Pauluse (lines 1, 2, 8, 10, 11, 12).
In addition, various regional and long-distance buses stop in Paulus!

Theatre production "The Bacchae " is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme. The European Capital of Culture is supported by A. Le Coq, Delfi Media, Topauto and Lux Express.