PRODUCTIONS

aod has earned an enviable reputation for making Greek tragedy seriously sexy (The Guardian) and since 1993 we have built up an extensive track record of gripping and wholly accessible (The Stage) productions. Below you can find a timeline of our productions; for information about upcoming shows you can email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Savage Beauty 2020

“This is an immersive production with all the works.”

Chris on Theatre

81% of audience members are more likely to engage in eco-friendly activity

Audience Survey

Lysistrata 2018

“A passionate and intense piece of physical theatre.”

British Theatre Guide

“An incredibly sexy performance.”

The Stage

Antigone 2017

"Adams' Antigone shares more than a passing handshake with Anouilh's own, and that commerce is given vigorous life in a performance of noisy, visceral integrity.”

Yorkshire Times

“It's to the company's great credit that from this material they have created something so interesting, accessible, and above all enjoyable.”

North West End

She Denied Nothing 2017

“A truly immersive and thought-provoking production. Simply fabulous!”

Brighton Fringe review

"This is a clever and imaginative production...A powerful re-rendering of Antigone…The immersive staging makes me feel that I was actually there with them in the hospital – What more can you ask of theatre?”

Fringe Review

Bacchae 2016

"Thanks so much for a fab show: 16 years after I first saw it & still great!"

The Idle Woman

"Wonderful...With moments of great pathos and brisk humour.”

BGS Classics Weekly

Helen 2016

"Astonishing and unforgettable...This is a highly, highly recommended production.”

Fringe Review

"An intensely harrowing and refreshingly unique take on the legend of Helen of Troy."

Reviews Hub

Lysistrata 2016

“Greek at school was never as naughty and so much fun as this.”

What’s On Stage

“A slick, hilariously funny show, which rattles along at high speed on the strength of fine ensemble work from its cast of five…Timeless stuff.”

The Stage

Savage Beauty 2015

“Savage Beauty last night pulled together sensuous, hilarious and genuinely moving work from Ancient Greek poems, plays and inscriptions. A✭! Kudos.”

Bettany Hughes

“One to savour.”

Irish Times

Paris Alexandros 2015

“Pure theatre at its finest.”

Harlow Star

“A gripping adaptation by acclaimed theatre company Actors of Dionysus.”

Fulham Chronicle

Trojan Women 2014

“Wonderfully complex…And compelling.”

The Public Reviews

“An inspired piece of theatre, meticulously presented.”

The Argus

Helen 2014

“A fantastic aesthetic quality to the piece…Haunting…Gripping…Helen is a visual treat…Well worth checking out.”

A Younger Theatre

"Helen is a rollercoaster ride of emotion and a fantastic adaptation of a story millenia old.”

★★★★★ Salford Online

Medea 2013

“One of the best productions of Greek tragedy I have ever seen…It reminds me of exactly why ancient drama is still worth studying and performing today.”

Dr Rosie Wyles

“Impressive, touching, daring, powerful, dynamic, emotional and definitely worth watching.”

The River

Palamedes 2013

“This mesmerising theatrical coup held the audience enthralled.”

The Spectator

“A performance bristling with energy.”

St Andrews Citizen

Dionysia 2012

“With tragedy so powerfully portrayed, watching aod can be an emotionally draining experience, but what wonderful catharsis. Keeping alive the traditions of live Greek drama makes aod a vital element in the nations’ cultural life.”

Ilkley Observer

“Charismatic, sensuous, sublime.”

Bettany Hughes

Economus Wrecked 2011

“Superb…A Greek classic!”

Daily Mirror

“Rapid, smooth and satisfyingly poetic.”

TimeOut

LYSISTRATA 2011/2010

"Thanks to the Actors of Dionysus for a glorious evening: an uproarious, raunchy, rumbustious romp - larger than life, on every front!"

East Oxford Community Classics Centre

"Excellent!! I was sat in the centre-front row and in pain from laughing! Converted husband to Greek comedy!"

Helen King

BACCHIC 2008/2007

“A theatrical gem not to be missed.”

Total Theatre

“Thoughtful and intelligent…Shasha has the acting as well as the rope skills…A most unusual and rewarding hour.”

The Times

Watch Trailer

OEDIPUS 2006

“David Stuttard’s adaptation is gripping stuff, as sharp as steel and wholly accessible…Superb.”

The Stage

“Resonates with timeless themes which aod brought out powerfully in Tamsin Shasha’s production…Wonderful Greek classic.”

Halifax Evening Courier

TROJAN WOMEN 2005/2004

“Let nothing stop you from seeing them.”

The Times

“Admirably direct and accessible…A beautifully acted production.”

The Guardian

HIPPOLYTUS 2004

“Stunningly good. It brought out all the virtues with force and conviction. The audience plainly found it gripping."

Sir Kenneth Dover

"They rip into the play with a flourish that breathes new life and animation into an ancient tale.”

Fulham Chronicle

AGAMEMNON 2003

"Given time and support, Actors of Dionysus could restore the classics to their proper place in the theatre repertoire, which would be something like a National Classical Theatre.”

Times Educational Supplement

“Performed with an energy and passion that matched the superb staging, direction and design.”

The Argus

OEDIPUS 2003

“Under the dual direction of Marcello Magni and Tamsin Shasha the production, using a cast of four, swept along at a fast pace.”

Bristol Evening Post

"The play held them, as it held me, and that is a sure sign of its success: to grab the attention, not only of lively students but also of a somewhat jaded old hack who has seen around a dozen productions of the play.”

British Theatre Guide

TROJAN WOMEN 2002

“It was a privilege to see such work.”

Taunton Times

“A splendid evening. The audience was frozen in an attentive and palpable silence.”

Hexham Courant

ELECTRA 2002

“aod triumphed in a version of Electra that was emotionally compelling and subtle in its modernity. ”

The Argus

“Powerfully moving…Stunningly original production.”

Portsmouth News

MEDEA 2001

“This was Greek tragedy reinterpreted for a modern age in a wholly engaging form and it justified every minute of the time put into its creation.”

Westmorland Gazette

“No one did tragedy quite like the Greeks and no one does Greek tragedy quite like Actors of Dionysus…Another blistering performance: aod should be required viewing.”

Harlow Star

ANTIGONE 2001

"An astonishingly well-staged production…The final scene showed just why the company is considered to be the UK’s finest exponents of this form of theatre.”

Halifax Evening Courier

“Just as I was beginning to wonder exactly why I first became interested in theatre, and sick of all the musicals, along come Actors of Dionysus…This was a show to restore your faith in the genre.”

Exeter Express and Echo

GRAVE GIFTS 2000

“Raise your glasses - of wine naturally - in a toast to this exciting new version of one of the great tragedies of Greek drama…Stuttard’s translation, a combination of narration and dialogue comes over as modern and muscular as the cast.”

Yorkshire Post

“Actors of Dionysus is one company that consistently presents an ancient classic to a modern world in a way that an audience can really respond to…Really worth seeing if you can get a ticket.”

Bath Chronicle

BACCHAE 2000

“With clever cross-casting, and on a simple effectively lit climbing frame set…This is an athletic, sensual, ritualistic staging.”

Glasgow Herald

“Stunning, absorbing and beautifully produced…Having Tamsin Shasha play Dionysus added a welcome ambiguity to the gender war…Don’t miss this company when they return to the city.”

Aberdeen Press & Journal

HIPPOLYTUS 1999

“Words cannot adequately describe the power of this performance.”

Strathearn Herald

“Strongly visual, almost cinematic experience, strong on sensuality and eroticism.”

Sheffield Telegraph

AGAMEMNON 1999

“Stunning…Increasingly the company is developing its own voice and style.”

Strathearn Herald

“Engrossing – This production captures the poetry of the language and the sense of oppressive doom and it lingers in the mind long after the final tragic outcome.”

Halifax Evening Courier

ANTIGONE 1998

“Adding to a high calibre performance the simple but effective set and some beautifully atmospheric music. In all, a truly classic night out.”

Stirling Observer

“Classic and timeless…In a nicely-judged portrayal of stubborn tyranny by Mark Katz, Creon came across as a cruel and demanding power broker.”

Halifax Evening Courier

OEDIPUS 1998

“Vivid and compelling…In the title role Andy Wisher gives a performance of power and assurance.”

Halifax Evening Courier

“It would be difficult to praise the Actors of Dionysus too highly for their new production of Oedipus…Debbie Leeding is simply superb as the spasm ridden blind Teiresias…Inspired.”

St Andrews Citizen

AJAX 1997

“A very lean, fast-moving and flowing piece of theatre that was often visually stunning…A haunting production.”

Sheffield Telegraph

“Powerfully moving…Stunningly original production.”

Portsmouth News

ELECTRA 1997

“Stuttard’s sensitive and powerful translation keeps the force of the drama moving…Actors of Dionysus leave behind in their audiences an experience of deep intensity.”

St Andrews Citizen

“With Tamsin Shasha’s performance the productions stands and falls. She is brilliant.”

Halifax Evening Courier

TROJAN WOMEN 1996

“The tragic rhythm of the play, oscillating between hope and fresh despair, came over in full force…Maria Fierheller was utterly convincing and deeply moving as Hecuba.”

Classical Association

“Riveting action and a smooth translation”.

Halifax Evening Courier

MEDEA 1996

“A production that deploys some striking dramatic devices…Tamsin Shasha in the title role moves eloquently from pride to anger to violent despair and eventual deification.”

TimeOut

“Compelling performances by Tamsin Shasha as the abandoned wife and Steven Yule as Jason, her cheating husband.”

West Sussex County

BLOW YOUR MIND, ARISTOPHANES! 1995

“A lively, modern translation which will have a lot to offer to contemporary audiences.”

Western Morning News

“Tamsin Shasha gave a truly memorable performance, playing with an embittered intensity which held the audience spellbound.”

Classical Association

OEDIPUS 1995

“The Actors of Dionysus skillfully built up both pity and disgust for Oedipus the King to a powerful, cataclysmic climax…David Stuttard has a strong, well-paced rhythm and richly colourful images.”

London Weekly Times

“Dramatic force is conveyed with all the modesty of true artistic integrity.”

St Andrews Citizen

ELECTRA 1994

“Electra has a degree of realism which was brilliantly exploited by The Actors of Dionysus…Orestes was portrayed with great subtlety by Mark Blythe.”

Classical Association

“They perform these ancient plays with such conviction that they bring tears to the eyes and make the hair at the nape of the neck bristle.”

The Times

ANTIGONE 1994

“The translation was very impressive – good to speak, close to the Greek but always idiomatic – and the production had a similar dignity to it…Outstanding, imaginative use of the chorus.”

Professor Pat Easterling, Newnham College, Cambridge

“Another riveting production. Thank you for your considerable contribution in keeping the Classics alive!”

Jeremy Thomas, King Henry V111 School

HIPPOLYTUS 1993

“This young and committed cast skillfully utilise the power of the word and the rituals with spellbinding effect. A must for any true lover of the theatre.”

Edinburgh Evening News

“A gripping adaptation by acclaimed theatre company Actors of Dionysus.”

Fulham Chronicle

HEKABE 1993

“This Hekabe was one of the two best productions of a Greek tragedy in English translation that I have seen in forty years.”

Sir Kenneth Dover

“The timeless horror and ravages of war made a truly emotive impact…When Actors of Dionysus presented Hekabe, translated with sensitive and dramatic poetry by David Stuttard.”

Reading Chronicle

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