Supported by Onassis Culture, “The Return of Dionysus” by Theodoros Terzopoulos is published in English and Arabic by the German publishing house Theater der Ζeit
«We need to rethink theater through the art of the actor», writes Theodoros Terzopoulos in his book. Focusing on the body in its first chapter, he reminds us that in a period when so many actors and bodies constantly find themselves under a regime of precarity, «The Return of Dionysus» vindicates the meaning of both terms.
“Τerzopoulos’ theater can be most certainly understood as the closest example we have to the theater of Dionysus.”
Photo: Ashkal Alwan
This bilingual edition is prefaced by the famous theater studies specialist Erika Fischer Lichte. It consists of twelve theoretical chapters, 40 self-study exercises, an interview of Theodoros Terzopoulos to the writer Torsten Israel, as well as a two-and-a-half hour video about basic training by Savvas Stroumpos, available online on the video platform Vimeo.
The original method of training actors developed by the internationally acclaimed Greek director is taught in 30 universities and research centers across the globe, and has been translated into 10 languages.
“In Terzopoulos theater myth is not a fairytale but a concentrated experience. The process of rehearsal is not the performance of a dramatic theory, but an adventure to the landscape of memory, a search for the lost keys of unity between body and speech, the word as a natural entity."
"The method of Theodoros Terzopoulos is Socratic: the notion that we all carry the past within us, our ancestors, participating in a collective memory inscribed not just in our minds but also our bodies.”
“The Return of Dionysus” was published in Greek in 2015. Since then, it has been published in Russian, German, Italian, Turkish, Polish, Korean, Mandarin, and Chinese by leading publishing houses, theaters and academies internationally. It is also expected to be published in Portuguese and Spanish by the end of 2020.
