Re-ghosting the ‘haunted stage’: The Epidaurus Festival and the resignification of (theatre) space

Abstract

Abstract Since the official opening of the annual Epidaurus Festival in 1955, the ancient theatre of Epidaurus had been hosting (with very few exceptions) only performances of ancient Greek drama. This exclusive use of Epidaurus for productions of ancient drama had defined not only the Festival’s orientation but also the perception of the theatre space itself. Given the importance of antiquity for the construction of modern Greek identity, Epidaurus often became a site where different convictions of heritage and ‘linear’ historical continuity have been expressed and challenged both onstage and by the spectators/critics. Yet, in 2007, the Epidaurus Festival started hosting, for the first time in its history, productions of non-ancient drama. Based on Carlson’s analysis of ‘ghosting’, the aim of this article is to explore how the Festival, through these productions, attempted not only to reflect on its own tradition but to resignify this (ideologically) charged theatre space. My notion of ‘re-ghosting’ aspires to describe the possible effect that this short-lived attempt to ‘open’ Epidaurus may still have upon the perception of the ‘haunted’ ancient theatre.