Exasperated by twenty years of bloody conflict with no end in sight, the women of Athens and other cities involved in the Peloponnesian War gather together under the protection of Athena and devise an ambitious plan to finally bring peace to Greece: a sex strike! The proposal comes from the Athenian Lysistrata, a name that means “she who dissolves armies”. The Athenian women, initially hesitant, eventually allow themselves to be persuaded and ultimately achieve their goal. The same happens in Sparta and other cities: in the end, the men feel compelled to sign a peace treaty in order to return to their previous intimate relationships with their wives. Aristophanes' comedy is hilarious, provocative, paradoxical, vulgar (as the theme of the play and the comic genre require), but at the same time literarily sophisticated and inspired by a strong anti-war ideal.

 

Stage direction: Christian Poggioni

Dramaturgical direction: Elisabetta Matelli

Music: Paolo Tortiglione

Costumes: Stefania Parisini O'Brien