The Bacchae

In antiquity, the struggle of man against god is an unequal fight doomed to fail from the very outset. In Thebes, Dionysus is opposed by the unsuspecting King Pentheus. The tragedy culminates in suicide, committed unwittingly under Dionysus’ influence by Agaué, Pentheus’ mother. Director Rastislav Ballek and his creative team bring, among other things, a new theme onto the table of current social discourse: that of ananké, a destiny or necessity of sorts, with which the individual has to come to terms during his lifetime. The Bacchanalian orgies contain a reference to extremes and crisis, be it in connection with ecstatic frenzy motivated by religious fanatism or the shifting limits of value in a hedonistic society. Are we destined to perish?

The cast in this production offers a confrontation between two distinctive generations of actors at the Slovak National Theatre, as well as additional guest appearances. Anna Javorková, Dušan Jam‑ rich, Štefan Bučko bring sophisticated expression and detailed work with a difficult script. Milan Ondrík, Dominika Kavaschová and Daniel Fischer do not lack in original interpretation of the text in physical choreographies – anyway, this is a new translation by Peter Lomnický. Guest actors Martin Hronský, Michal Noga and Michal Kiník complement the anachronism of the stage interpretation.

Three ingenious visual artists – Katarína Holková, Markéta Plachá, Ivan Martika – bring their distinctive conceptual‑scenic vision and peculiar stylistic nuance. The set is made up of panels depicting parts of the Pergamon Altar. The Altar, as a symbol of the mythical fight against and victory over chaos, portrays the struggle of the Gods and the Giants. Arranging the panels in the form of a tunnel creates a clever passage – a rift in time that serves as a conduit onto stage for the powers of the Bacchanalian craze, in order to strip the human being of his strength and self‑control. The costumes and set pieces play with the intellect, tradition, and provoke by their proportions and eccentricity.

As director Radislav Ballek has said about the play: “The important thing is that it, symbolically and in fact, concludes the monumental effort of the Greek spirit with a suggestive image of a fall into bar­barism, the downfall of individuality and the polis, the city-state, of human society built on reason and morality. I am no ex­pert, but even a layman will be struck by what the play describes, almost sadisti­cally: a sudden, terrifying, undignified and incomprehensible decline of the individual, family and state. The cause of all this is the influence of some new god, Dionysus, who – as it happens to be – is also the mythical progenitor of theatre as such.” Dramaturge Miroslav Dacho adds: “This is the third production of The Bacchae in Slovakia, the previous ones were more or less loose interpretations of the original, they used different translations, because a Slovak version had not existed and was only commissioned now by the Drama of the Slovak National Theatre. The Bacchae is a polemic about rationality and prag­matism on the one hand and emotion and hedonism on the other. A polemic about the right way to govern society, an open-minded to borderline anarchist way or a strictly pragmatic, almost cruel or tyrannical, that is the principal theme posed by the play.”

If man today acts inconsistently in the eyes of contemporary psychology, it is precisely the man of Antiquity and the limits imposed on his behaviour, action and will that offers an important impetus for reflecting on our own existence and freedom. And last but not least, gory brutality and the cruelty of tragedy portrayed in a theatre hall still holds cathartic potential for the audience. “The best way to relax and clear your mind or even to have fun is to watch a juicy tragedy filled with human misfortune and suffering. I am always surprised when someone thinks this is a paradox,” says director Rastislav Ballek.

Júlia Rázusová