An invocation. A celebration. A sacrifice.
An outcast god. A powerless king. A mother who kills her only son.
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| Photo by Louise Mather. |
Glasgow's acclaimed Company of Wolves present an earth-shattering solo retelling of the myth of Dionysos: an epic of rejection, vengeance and rebirth told through story, dance and ancient song.
Written and performed by Ewan Downie, The Bacchae blurs the lines between binaries: human and animal, male and female, victim and perpetrator, and takes us on a transformative journey from repression and denial to renewal and release. A hymn of rebirth for our shattered selves.
The Bacchae premiered at The Barn in Aberdeenshire and The Byre Theatre in St Andrews in Autumn 2023, and returned for a full run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025. Now, it tours Scotland-wide in Spring 2026.
We spoke with Ewan Downie to learn more.
Ewan, your adaptation of The Bacchae sounds fascinating! Can you share what inspired you to reimagine Euripides’s play in such a modern context with neon lights and supermarket cages?
Thanks! We were looking for a staging that felt ritualistic, but modern, and spoke a bit about how, in places where ritual is a bigger part of life, the ritual objects are sometimes quite ordinary, just whatever they have.
Thanks! We were looking for a staging that felt ritualistic, but modern, and spoke a bit about how, in places where ritual is a bigger part of life, the ritual objects are sometimes quite ordinary, just whatever they have.
The design was built very collaboratively – between myself, our stage designer Alisa Kalynova, our lighting designer Katherine Williams and the director Ian Spink – we were looking for something modern, but that could be used as the elements in a ritual space. We weren’t sure what we were looking for but then our Production Manager, Craig Fleming, brought the cages in one day and everyone just said: “Yes!”
What drew you to this piece in particular?
I first read the play maybe 30 years ago, and it’s been in my mind ever since. It’s a mysterious story: I don’t think you can ever quite grasp it, and this is part of the nature of Dionysos — he is the god of change, of becoming something else, of transgressing boundaries — he is ungraspable, and I am definitely drawn to unanswerable questions.
The characters are quite rich and layered. What was your approach to embodying five different mythological figures in this production?
They each have quite different ways of seeing the world: this gave rise to their way of moving in the world, their gestural language, and their ways of speaking. It was an organic process. But also there is one way of looking at the show where everything takes place inside the mind of Dionysos: he is revisiting his history and origins and memories, chewing over his experiences to make sense of who he is. So there’s that, too.
They each have quite different ways of seeing the world: this gave rise to their way of moving in the world, their gestural language, and their ways of speaking. It was an organic process. But also there is one way of looking at the show where everything takes place inside the mind of Dionysos: he is revisiting his history and origins and memories, chewing over his experiences to make sense of who he is. So there’s that, too.
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| Photo by Louise Mather |
You co-wrote original songs in the production with Anna Porubcansky. How do they contribute to the overall narrative of The Bacchae?
The songs are arrangements of fragments of the choruses in the original ancient Greek. We were lucky to be able to work with Dr Michael Carroll, who is an ancient Greek specialist, to help us understand the depth and musicality in the original text. From there, we began to build the arrangements, using what is known about what ancient Greek music was like. They hopefully contribute an atmosphere, a hint of another world.
The songs are arrangements of fragments of the choruses in the original ancient Greek. We were lucky to be able to work with Dr Michael Carroll, who is an ancient Greek specialist, to help us understand the depth and musicality in the original text. From there, we began to build the arrangements, using what is known about what ancient Greek music was like. They hopefully contribute an atmosphere, a hint of another world.
How did you approach blending the world and the sound of the show?
Everything developed at the same time - the songs, the words, the movement, and the design elements were created together over the course of making the show, so I guess it was less of a matter of blending, and more of letting these elements naturally and organically emerge alongside each other. Our creative team works so collaboratively. It was important for us all to find a way that these different elements could work for the story that needed to be told
Everything developed at the same time - the songs, the words, the movement, and the design elements were created together over the course of making the show, so I guess it was less of a matter of blending, and more of letting these elements naturally and organically emerge alongside each other. Our creative team works so collaboratively. It was important for us all to find a way that these different elements could work for the story that needed to be told
How does The Bacchae address the idea of renewal and transformation in today’s world?
In one way, The Bacchae is a cautionary tale: it tells us that if we resist renewal and change, eventually we will fail and the change will be violent and bloody – but from another perspective, the play tells us that all change is a kind of death, and only when the old dies can the new be born. That there is grief and pain in all change, as well as renewal. These feel like important reminders in today's world
In one way, The Bacchae is a cautionary tale: it tells us that if we resist renewal and change, eventually we will fail and the change will be violent and bloody – but from another perspective, the play tells us that all change is a kind of death, and only when the old dies can the new be born. That there is grief and pain in all change, as well as renewal. These feel like important reminders in today's world
How does this production fit into the ethos of the work that Company of Wolves' stage?
We’re interested in how word, movement and music can work together on the stage — as they did in the ancient Greek theatre. This piece integrates dance, movement, text and music in new ways, so it’s part of that search. Much of our work is also concerned with the roots and origins of performance — as a way of re-examining our assumptions about what theatre is — in this piece we began with a seemingly impossible task: how to stage a play built around a huge chorus, with one actor. And that fits with our other work, too: we’re often trying to solve an insoluble problem in our performances.
We’re interested in how word, movement and music can work together on the stage — as they did in the ancient Greek theatre. This piece integrates dance, movement, text and music in new ways, so it’s part of that search. Much of our work is also concerned with the roots and origins of performance — as a way of re-examining our assumptions about what theatre is — in this piece we began with a seemingly impossible task: how to stage a play built around a huge chorus, with one actor. And that fits with our other work, too: we’re often trying to solve an insoluble problem in our performances.
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on your own theatrical journey?
I was lucky enough to see a lot of the experimental work at the Citizens Theatre in the early 90s, and my ideas of theatre were profoundly shaped by those productions: The Wasp Factory, Travels with my Aunt, The Crucible. There was a spirit of adventure in those shows that I’ve never forgotten.
What keeps you inspired?
My kids. This painful world.
I was lucky enough to see a lot of the experimental work at the Citizens Theatre in the early 90s, and my ideas of theatre were profoundly shaped by those productions: The Wasp Factory, Travels with my Aunt, The Crucible. There was a spirit of adventure in those shows that I’ve never forgotten.
What keeps you inspired?
My kids. This painful world.
Finally, what do you hope audiences take away from this re-telling of The Bacchae?
A journey to another place, and to return to this one with new eyes.
A journey to another place, and to return to this one with new eyes.
The Bacchae tours in Scotland from 4th March until 29th May 2026. For venues and booking information visit https://companyofwolves.org/projects/the-bacchae
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| Photo by Louise Mather. |
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