Artistic solution for the tragedy «The Bacchae»

The plot of Euripides’ tragedy, «The Bacchae, ” is set in a Soviet-era Agricultural Research Institute. The Institute is located in the center of a swamp, behind a large concrete fence. In one of the greenhouses there, unprecedented plants (the bacchae) begin to sprout. The institute’s director is frightened by the new species and wants them gone as soon as possible.

The Image of the Maenads. The maenads have become wild plants dancing in their bacchanalian frenzy. They symbolize new, experimental times—the triumph of feeling and nature over reason. They spread throughout the conservatory, claiming space and clinging to everything around them. Everything has become green and wild.The image of the conservatory, where another world is visible through the transparent glass. A world of greenery and nature. In the conservatory, Dionysus cultivates the maenads like in an incubator hidden from all eyes.

The space in front of the institute. The majority of the scene is occupied by a massive concrete fence with an entrance. Around it is a swamp.

A scene inside the institute, in laboratories where cultivated plants are constantly monitored and move along like on an assembly line.

The Conservatory of Bacchanals—vibrant and luminous. This is a space of chaos and nature.

At the end of the bacchanal, they select from their greenhouse and transform Penphei into a tree that will grow outside the institute.