My daughter comes wearing her wedding dress and I’m going to kill her…

Ifigenia is the first violent death of a woman in Western literature. Agamemnon, her father and head of the Greek army, sentences and nails like a flag the root of violence against girls and women at the origin of our civilization. Following the trail of Ifigenia’s blood we reach the sacrifice of Polyxena, a Trojan princess, and the discovery burns rage in our throats: The Trojan War ended as it began, flooding the sea with virgin blood…

Ifigenia drew a map from kilometer zero of violence against women to the return home of the victorious perpetrator army. A newly created work, woven from three classic tragedies, through which the epic of the Greek victory in the Trojan War passes: Ifigenia in Aúlis, Hecuba and Agamemnon. A work about the very high cost that women had to pay for men to achieve glory.

Hecuba and Clytemnestra, queens of victors and vanquished, mothers of the murdered, harbor in their wombs a savage wound that opens. Rage mutates into slow fury. Here is the transformation of mothers into beasts… The steel gate of revenge opens… The silence is torn by the voracious instinct of a tormented beast and a thunderous scream thirsty for murderous blood. This is the story of the forgotten ones and their condemned mothers. It is a rose of blood between bloody hands.

Ifigenia is a crack of light in the dark cave into which women’s pain and guilt have been thrown. A beam of light to illuminate everything, so that their names are not erased from history. Because silence is not innocent.

Her tormented screams stabbed into my belly like sharp glass. And I was no longer afraid of burning.
The Light is Ours.

This comedy tells the story of Lisístrata Montoya, a gypsy from the Sacromonte neighborhood (Granada) who summons her cousins to combat an evil that worries her: racism.

Far from finding a quick and forceful answer, Lisístrata Montoya realizes that each of her cousins has other concerns among which is not making any revolution.

An oath and the help of one of them will make them all unite to eradicate the racism that stalks the gypsy people.

Inspired by the classic work of Aristophanes, its author, Coco Reyes, in turn recounts several macabre passages of the historical persecution of gypsies that have caused many of the prejudices experienced by this ethnic group.

Laughter, emotion, tension and spontaneity are some of the elements that viewers will find in this unique play.

This show could be considered the third part of a trilogy consisting of Aeschylus, Birth and Death of Tragedy and The Gods and God. The three shows revolve around the oral tradition of mythological stories on which the great Greek tragedies are built. And at the same time, the three shows are humorous monologues, where the language and resources of comedy are confronted with the arguments of the best-known classic tragedies frequently performed at the Mérida Festival. This mixture of tragedy with humor is not strange to the origin and perennial essence of Greek theater. It is said of Silenus, the demigod who serves as the patron of tragedy, and subordinate of Dionysus, god of tragedy, that when Midas asked him “what was best for man,” Silenus replied: “what is best for man.” “It would be not having been born.” To Midas’ astonishment, Silenus added: “but don’t worry, since you were born, the best thing for you would be to die as soon as possible.” This cannot be understood except as a joke that suggests the “absurdity of existence”, which is the great leitmotif of all Greek tragedy. There were still 25 centuries left for Valle-Inclán to present that mixture again in his brilliant creation of the grotesque. The mixture of genres was always there, showing that the dividing lines are a conventional creation, a code, so that the public adjusts its attitude towards the show.

Icons or the exploration of destiny is a humorous monologue that reflects on destiny in Greek tragedy. The great iconic figures of Medea, Oedipus, Antigone and finally Hecuba parade through this show. The exploration of destiny comes hand in hand with a comparative exposition of this determining force (destiny) in the lives of tragic heroes and likewise in the stories of Hindu mythology, where the concept of karma includes in the dynamism of destiny, the concept of freedom.

All these ingredients are interspersed with autobiographical experiences of the author and actor himself, as humorous parodies, with didactic elements from the usual repertoire of the Mérida Classical Theater Festival.

Two thousand five hundred years ago, a dramatic poet wrote a tragic trilogy that explores the urgent need to establish a civic agreement capable of ending the endless cycles of vengeance that plague human coexistence. This poet, known as Aeschylus, conceived not only a work of art but also a vehicle for proposing a radical shift in the concept of justice.

Through characters caught in cycles of resentment and violence, Aeschylus shows us how, in an unexpected turn toward a tragically hopeful ending, gods and mortals join forces to found an institution that promises to end vigilante justice—marking the birth of a new chapter in civilization.We present Orestíada with the ambition of building a bridge between the myths of Ancient Greece and our present day, breathing ancestral impulses and archetypes into the reality of our times.

Agripina the Younger was one of the most influential women of her time. Her story remains relevant and significant even today.

The performance invites reflection on the challenges faced by women in power: the games of influence and how society embraces—or rejects—ambitious and strategic female figures.

It explores themes such as ambition, power, and betrayal—topics that remain ever-present in politics and society.

The rise and fall of Agripina highlight how women have historically had to navigate patriarchal structures, often resorting to strategies such as political marriages and alliances to gain and maintain influence. Public figures who frequently manipulated narratives to shape their image—something Agrippina mastered. She defied the expectations of her time, exercising power in a world dominated by men.

Recommended age: 16 and up
Duration: approx. 50 minutes

(Portuguese show with subtitles)

Prometeu tells the story of a titan that was chained to a rock in the high seas and condemned by Zeus to live there, alone, for all eternity. Isolated, it receives the visit of gods, nymphs and sorcerers, some who support it and others who accuse him of having stolen the fire of the Olympus and shared it on earth with men. There, in the middle of the sea, in secret, he plans his revenge against Zeus and, as a consequence, his liberation from such terrible punishment.

From 12 years.
Duration: 75 min. approx.

Échale la culpa a Pandora is a theatrical work that combines 6 monologues of the actress and humorist Antonia San Juan with 6 original musical pieces performed by a string quartet and the singer Ada Rapisarda. Antonia San Juan plays the role of Casandra, daughter of the kings of Troy, whom the God Apollo delivered the gift of clairvoyance to later load her with the curse that, not only could she not be able to shut her predictions, but no one was going to believe them either.

Through Cassandra’s eyes, we are introduced to the stories of 6 women from Greek mythology: Pandora, Persephone, Eurydice, Penelope, Ariadne, and Helen. Each of these women, through the stereotypes they embody, reflects the secondary role traditionally assigned to women since ancient Greece. All of this is told through the unmistakable humor of Antonia San Juan, while also denouncing the tragic reality and ongoing struggles that persist even today—after all, the Greeks invented tragicomedy.

Ada Rapisarda portrays each of these women through the songs in the show, always telling the story from their point of view. The songs are often soliloquies by our heroines, who speak out about being mistreated, abandoned, forgotten, ignored… accompanied by deeply emotional music unlike anything you’ve heard before.

Échale la culpa a Pandora will make you laugh, cry, think, and feel deeply moved. It may even give you goosebumps—but above all, it won’t leave you indifferent. It will challenge you to reconsider the role of women throughout the history of humanity, starting in ancient Greece.

Recommended age: 16 and up
Duration: approx. 90 minutes

A multicultural offering. Under the direction of award-winning director Ángel Calvente, the Antonio Campos Company, in collaboration with El Espejo Negro, presents a bold and contemporary reinterpretation of Ulysses’ epic odyssey. This unique theatrical production is distinguished by a vibrant soundscape that encompasses an eclectic mix of musical genres, from soul, blues, and rock, to the evocative sounds of Balkan, Ottoman, and Mediterranean music, enriched with elements of ancient Greece. The show weaves modernity with Homeric poetry, offering the audience a rich cultural tapestry through symbolic, musical, and dialectical language. This reimagined odyssey promises an unforgettable adventure, navigating the waters of the fantastic and the epic, and reaffirms the company’s commitment to innovation and excellence in theatrical art.

Ages 18+
Running time: Approx. 60 min.

This is an Antigone without Creon, trapped in the dictatorship of kinship. She lives with her inner dictator. She rebels against Creon’s power but succumbs to the supposed feminine virtue of submission. Female sacrifice becomes a daily custom, even leading to self-immolation and death. Antigone, Oedipus, and Polynices, always emigrants, cling to their essence to survive. Elegua, to open the way, Oia, to announce death, accompany these Greek characters from the Caribbean. Antigone, caregiver, emigrant, rebel and submissive, brave and cowardly, is a reactor that generates a magnetic field that moves the other characters and the audience. Polynices is a boxer obsessed with violence; Oedipus wanders blind and dresses as a woman, like Jocasta. Antigone carries Polynices’ enormous naked body, trying to hide it. Theater, dance, dry leaves, and the heavy burdens of emigrants.

For ages 18 and over.
Duration: Approximately 60 minutes.

The people of Thebes revive their three great myths as a tragic chorus: Ay Teatro brings together several masterpieces of Greek tragedy performed by a theatrical chorus of young actors and musicians who revive the great myth of Thebes: the saga of Oedipus and his descendants. The young cast embodies all the characters in a family saga that transgresses social boundaries to the ultimate consequences, in an ethical and moral mirror that reflects the great founding questions of coexistence: Are crimes and guilt hereditary? Should the truth be sought at any price? Is there a boundary between reason and belief? In short: who are we? Ay Teatro proposes a journey to the pure origins of classical tragedy.

Ages 16 and up.
Duration: Approx. 80 min.