Bakkhai Director’s Notes

McKenzie, Vahri. (2018). Bakkhai Director’s Notes. Bunbury, WA: Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre.

Bakkhai was one of Euripides’ final plays and is concerned with two apparently opposed sides of human nature, the rational and the instinctive. When these collide, in the forms of the rigid young ruler of Thebes, Pentheos, and the beautiful ‘stranger’ Dionysos, tragedy ensues. This is an ancient play based on an even older myth, offering a robust foundation for a new version that presents original writing, dance, art and music. We embrace the sounds and images of the natural world in post-colonial Australia, with all of its complexities.