Festival of Dionysus

The Festival of Dionysus was originally an ancient Greek celebration where playwrights would submit new tragic works to compete for a prize. It was intoxicating and cathartic, and in that tradition, we present our own Festival Of Dionysus. Ours features tragedies based on the classics by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and others, but highly compressed and funny.

FESTIVAL OF DIONYSUS 2010
See photos of the festival

Watch Oedipus (NSFW!):

Here was our original announcement for the shows:

The International Bedlam Society and Chicago Art Department come together to bring you three nights of bacchanalia to finish off your winter blues once and for all. This Spring Equinox festival will be held for three Saturdays in March to celebrate the coming season and the god of revelry with theatre, games, food, and drink!
Gods and Mortals mix at this immersive evening hosted by the Son of Zeus himself. Become witness to the Secret Rites in this lush, verdant indoor atmosphere where wine, milk, and honey flow literally from the walls! Explore the darker side of your psyche and participate in the spectacle of the night! A little sparagmos never did anybody harm…
Each evening will feature different musical guests and an ensemble performance of eight Greek theatre favorites. Written and assembled by the International Bedlam Society, these scripts are pulled from the Ancient Festival of Dionysus and the Greek Masters–Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, and more. See your favorite stories; Zeus, Prometheus, Oedipus, Theseus, Hippolytus, Achilles, Orestes and Pentheus. Retold for the modern, ADD and television-soaked audience, these plays are bawdy, dark, and sharp.

FESTIVAL OF DIONYSUS 2012
What? You mean there’s going to be ANOTHER festival?
That’s right. Look for it in March 2012, featuring 6 original plays. Expect more violence, more profanity, more booze, and a new location. If you want to be a part of it, contact us at theinternationalbedlamsociety@gmail.com.