Award-winning director Lea Maleni is directing the Cypriot production for this year’s “International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama,” Aeschylus’ *Seven Against Thebes*, produced by the Persona Theater Group, presenting a directorial approach of unique dynamism and aesthetic, with a remarkable team of artists by her side.

The Cypriot production, *Seven Against Thebes*, will be presented at the Makarios III Amphitheater, School for the Blind on July 27 and 28, followed by performances at the Ancient Theater of Kourion on July 31 and August 1, 2026.

At the heart of this Aeschylean tragedy lies the fratricidal conflict between Oedipus’s sons. Polynices returns at the head of the Argive army to claim the power denied him by his brother, Eteocles, who violated their agreement. Thebes is under a suffocating siege, and the confrontation inevitably leads to a conflict with no winners, where power and brotherly bonds clash with devastating consequences.

Drawing on Myth, History, and collective memory, the performance engages with the present, focusing on fear, trauma, and the heartbreak of civil strife. In a world of endless, perpetuating fratricidal conflicts, where the dividing lines between perpetrator and victim grow increasingly blurred, a theater troupe with diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds unites its voices in a heart-wrenching multicultural coexistence, seeking light amid the maelstrom of war.

Aeschylus’s iconic anti-war drama, the last in his Theban cycle, centers on the horrifying experience of civil strife that transcends time, remaining dramatically relevant. Articulating the raw language of war, it speaks sharply to contemporary audiences, conveying anguish and despair over the outcome of human folly.

Aeschylus’s *Seven Against Thebes*

PERSONA THEATER GROUP, Cyprus

Monday, July 27 │ Makarios III Amphitheater, School for the Blind

Tuesday, July 28 │ Makarios III Amphitheater, School for the Blind

Friday, July 31 │ Ancient Theater of Kourion

Saturday, August 1 │ Ancient Theater of Kourion

With English and Greek subtitles

The performance is suitable for ages 12 and up

Duration: 90 minutes

Performances begin at 9:00 p.m. | Please arrive at the theater by 8:00 p.m.

Ticket sales:

SOLD-OUT TICKETS

STEPHANIS stores throughout Cyprus

Ticket prices:

€16 regular

€10 reduced (students, university students, National Guard members, retirees, large families, unemployed)

Information: 7000 2414 │ www.greekdramafest.com

Aeschylus’s “Seven Against Thebes”

PERSONA THEATER GROUP, Cyprus

About the Production

Translation: Giorgos Blanas

Directed by: Lea Maleni

Dramaturgy: Elena Triantafyllopoulou & Lea Maleni

Music: Spyros Kallivokas

Set Design/Costumes: Giorgos Giannou

Choreography: Panagiotis Tofis

Lighting Design: Nikos Mylonas

Assistant Director: Katerina Papageorgiou

Language Instructors: Kamal Eldin Salah (Arabic), Almas Aadan Abdulle (Somali), Raamaakrisshnan Nenmeli (Hindi), Afsaneh Fasihi & Maryam Edalati (Farsi), Dragana Konstantinou Markov (Serbian)

Music instruction: Frederiki Tombazou, Spyros Kallivokas

Technical operator: Achilleas Mouskis

Set painting: Martin Meason

Stage Technician: Sami Saami

Stage Direction and Production Management: Katerina Papageorgiou

Budget Management: Christina Konstantinou

Production Manager on behalf of the Persona Theater Group: Lea Maleni

Cast (in order of appearance):

Eteocles/Chorus: Yiannis Karaoulis

Angel/Chorus: Andreas Papamichalopoulos

Antigone/Chorus: Marina Mandri

Ismene/Chorus: Myrsini Christodoulou

Chorus: Anna Giagiouzi, Vasilis Michael,

Semeli Kyriazi, Frederiki Tombazou

Polyneices: Antonis Akritov

Children:

Solon Dellaporta,

Damianos Kousiappas

Musicians on stage:

Natasha Hatzandreou (percussion), Annita Skoutella (French horn)