The Bacchae COMPLETE SCRIPT

9/3/2018 The Bacchae
The Bacchae
by Euripides, translated by David Greig
This version of The Bacchae was first performed at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh, on
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Cast
Cast
DIONYSOS (Alan Cumming)

PENTHEUS (Tony Curran)
CADMUS (Ewan Hooper)
TIRESIAS (Ralph Riach)
AGAVE (Paola Dionisotti)
THE BACCHAE (Michelle Asante) (Lynette Clarke) (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) (Marcia Mantack)
(Gloria Onitiri) (Denise Orita) (Ann-Marie Roberts) (Jessika Williams) (Emi Wokoma) (Sandra Yaw)
The Band
NIGEL LILLEY Production Musical Director

MIKE PORTER Musician
NICK RADCLIFFE Musician
iii
Creative Team
JOHN TIFFANY Director

STEVEN HOGGETT Associate Director
MIRIAM BUETHER Designer
COLIN GRENFELL Lighting Designer
CHRISTOPHER SHUTT Sound Designer
© David Greig, 2007
Enquire about performing rights at:
Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Waverley House, 7-12 Noel Street, London W1F 8GQ [http://www.casarotto.co.uk]
All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before rehearsals to the
performance rights holder. No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained. No rights in incidental music or songs
contained in the Work are hereby granted and performance rights for any performance/presentation whatsoever must be obtained from
the respective copyright owners.
All materials on this Website are the copyright of the publishers or are reproduced with permission from other copyright owners. All
rights are reserved. The materials on this website may be accessed solely for personal use. No materials may otherwise be copied,
modified, published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without prior written permission of the publisher.
http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com.ezproxy.uwl.ac.uk/plays/the-bacchae-iid-19826/do-9780571284382-div-10000001 1/1
The Bacchae
Characters
DIONYSOS a new god
TEIRESIAS a blind prophet
KADMOS retired King of Thebes
PENTHEUS Prince of Thebes, Kadmos' grandson
MAN a henchman to Pentheus
THE FIRST MESSENGER a cowherd
THE SECOND MESSENGER a house servant
AGAVE Pentheus' mother
THE CHORUS followers of Dionysos from Lydia

The Bacchae
Place
The action takes place in Thebes
The Bacchae
Prologue
A house ruined by fire with smoke rising from its burnt timbers.
In the middle of the house, an old tomb.
Dionysos So, Thebes,

I'm back.
Dionysos,
You do know me.
Semele
Was my mother,
Zeus my father,
Lightning my midwife.
I am, of course, a god.
But if you saw
Me as I really am – divine –
Your eyes would burn out of their sockets
So
For your benefit I appear
In human form. Like you. Fleshy.
Man? Woman? – It was a close-run thing.
I chose man. What do you think?
Here I am in Thebes – a city

At the confluence of two rivers –
Always a bad sign.
Over there the stream of Dirce –
There the River Ismenos.
And here – entombed in the ruins
Of her own house – lies Semele,
My mother. You know the story.
Zeus seduced her. Hera found out. 8
Furious – she tricked her husband.
'Why go to the girl disguised?'
She said. 'Don't be so coy, big boy.
Let your young lover see you
In all your divine glory.'
So Semele waited naked
In the bedroom for her lover's
Coming and – when he came – he came
As lightning – a bolt so powerful
It killed her. She still smoulders.
In Semele's blackened womb

Zeus saw me. Foetal. Pink. Alive.
Desperate. He picked me out of her
And sewed me up into his thigh
Where I grew. Safe and warm
Until I could be born again,
Cut from his immortal crotch,
A chip off the old block.
Dionysos.
Divine.
Kadmos my grandfather decreed

This – his daughter's death place – sacred.
Me –
I think it needs livening up
He covers the tomb in flowers.
So,
Thebes, I've been away revealing
Myself in foreign places,
In Lydia where they're rich,
And in Phrygia where they're poor,
I've shown myself in Persia
On the sun-baked plains. I've climbed
The mountains of the Himalaya,
I've crossed Arabia and lingered 9
In the Levant. I've been everywhere
And everywhere I've been they've seen
Me for who I am – a new god.
Now Greece must know and kneel to me
And so I've set matters dancing
Here – in Thebes. It just seemed fitting.
Was it not in this city that
My mother's sisters put the word
Out that I was not a real god?
They told everyone my mother
Was nothing but a simple slut
Who just used Zeus as an excuse.
Oh aunts – you should have known better.
I have come back and stung you,

Driven you from your homes, I've taken
Hold of your minds and made you dress
In the finest skins and take up
The Bakkhic spears of my worshippers
And I've sent you to the mountains
To inculcate you to my cult.
So, Thebes,
Right now your royal women
Sit under the blue green pines
On the slopes of Kithairon
Worshipping me in mind-blasted
Ecstasy.
So,
Did I come home alone? No,
Not alone, I brought companions.
My mighty Maenads – the women
Who walked with me through Asia,
The acolytes who first acknowledged
Me – my band who back me up
With drums and tambourines – my choir
Who sing me – into being. 10
My Bakkhai.
So, Thebes,
You will acknowledge me
Whether you want to or not,
You will acknowledge me
And love me because I am
Dionysos.
I am the Scream.
The Bacchae
Parados
The Bakkhai enter Thebes.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
We are the Bakkhai

We left our homes
To give ourselves
To the Scream
It's sweet work
It's easy work.
Yes.
You, you, you
Stand quiet
In front of your houses
Kneel, go down
Kneel, go down
For Dionysos
Yes.
Come, Thebans, come out of your houses, let the ceremonies begin, cover yourselves in
ivy, burst with green, burst with red berries, burst with bright flowers, decorate the city, raise
pine branches, drape oak leaves, wrap yourselves in the finest skin, tie your dress with 11
belts of wool, raise up the god's Bakkhic spears, do it, do it because the Scream demands
it, and when the Scream demands, everyone in the land must dance to the mountain where
the women wait. Come, Thebans, come.
Joy joy joy
To you who come

To the mountain
With the Bakkhai
To give yourself
To Dionysos
Yes.
Come, Thebans, come lose yourselves with us, come killing with us, come drink with us
dark red goats' blood, come eat with us raw flesh, come follow the Scream into the world.
Yes! We flow with milk. Yes! We flow with wine. Yes! We are made of honey. Come with us
and set fire to seasoned pine. Smell the perfumed smoke. See the crackling light and
watch the Scream come into us. See him delight us, spur us, move us, the beautiful
Scream throwing his head back and shouting into the night.
Go go go
Bakkhai
Bring the Scream
Down from the mountain
Bring the Scream

Into Greece,
Bring the Scream
Into me.
Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Bacchae
The First Episode
In front of the palace.

Enter Teiresias, a blind man.
He wears fine skin and ivy.
He carries a Bakkhic spear.
Teiresias
Kadmos!
Kadmos!
Kadmos!
Kadmos! Who's keeping watch here?
Call Kadmos from the palace
Tell him Teiresias is here.
Teiresias.
He knows what it's about. We agreed,
The two of us, geriatrics both,
To take up the Bakkhic spears
Of the new god – Dionysos.
We agreed to wear the finest skin
And cover our heads with crowns
Of flowers and ivy.
Kadmos Teiresias – my dearest friend,

I'd know that old voice anywhere.
The voice of knowledge – which speaks
Wisdom so wisely. Wait there.
Enter Kadmos.
He wears fine skins and ivy; he carries a Bakkhic spear.
Here I am,
Ready to take part in the dance
Of the new god. He is, after all,
My daughter's son and we must praise 13
Him, raise him up and recognise
Him as a god. A new god. Now,
Teiresias – where do we dance?
What are the steps? You know it all,
Teiresias, you lead us,
Geriatrics both, we'll shake
The grey from off our heads tonight.
I feel like I could beat this spear
On the ground all day and all night
And obliterate old age.
Teiresias
I feel that feeling too, Kadmos.
I feel young. I want to dance.
Kadmos
How shall we go to the mountain?

Shall I arrange for a wagon
To take us?
Teiresias No – let's walk. I think

To walk would be more Bakkhic.
Kadmos Good.
Now then, let me take your hand,
And we will walk to the mountain,
Geriatrics together – slow.
Teiresias No.
Dionysos will make our walking
Effortless.
Kadmos Teiresias,
Where are the other men? Why
Are we the only ones dancing?
14
Teiresias
It seems, Kadmos, we are alone
In our wisdom. The other men
Think they know better than us.
Kadmos Me,
I'm not above any religion.
I do as I'm bidden.
I'm only made of flesh and blood.
Teiresias
I agree. It is not wise
To try and out-think a god.
Sophisticated speech may dazzle
But true transcendence is achieved
In timeless rituals handed down
By our forefathers. Some might say
It's embarrassing to see
An old man dressed in soft fine skin
And flowers but Bakkhos' demands
Don't distinguish: young and old,
Woman and man. All must dance.
Kadmos
Come on, time's passing. Take my hand.
Teiresias
Here. Grip hard. Hold me. That way
We'll not be separated.
Enter Pentheus.
Armoured and with a retinue of Men.
Teiresias
Kadmos
I hear someone coming.
Who is it?
15
Kadmos
Pentheus. The Prince is back
And he seems – agitated.
Pentheus What the hell is going on?

I'm away from Thebes dealing with
City business and I come back

To hear our wives and daughters
Have left their homes. I hear news
Of seduction and deception
(Under the guise of religion).
I hear that our women have gone
To the mountain where they hide
In the darkness of the pine woods
Offering themselves –
To (the supposedly divine)
Dionysos –
Whoever he may be –
With dances.
I hear
That in the middle of the dance
Sits a brimful bowl of wine
From which they all drink, and I hear
That when drunk each different woman
Slips away to a lonely place
And makes herself available
To men – for sex.
(They claim this is a ritual –
Part of their Bakkhic worship
Although in fact it is simply
Common prostitution.)
The Bakkhai we've managed to catch

My men have subdued, tied them up,
And now they're safely behind bars.
Those women still at large I'll hit
Hard – drive them into my iron nets 16
And bind them. I will not have them
Dance.
But then I hear a foreigner
Has come to Thebes. Some eastern priest
With perfumed hair and a pretty
Face who is seducing our girls
With his dark eyes.
And I hear that
Day and night, one by one, they scream
In rapturous communion
As he enters them –
If I catch him I'll cut his throat.
I'm told this charlatan declares

That Dionysos is divine.
For that blasphemy alone
He's worth a hanging.
(Whoever
He really is.)
But oh – oh now,
Will wonders never cease?
I see
Our seer – Teiresias – done up
Daintily in fine dappled skin
And oh – my noble grandfather
Holding what seems to be a stick.
How very Bakkhic. I feel sick
To see these old men mindless.
Teiresias, Kadmos, your age

Saves you from a beating –
Just.
If you were young or women
I would
Bind your hands and whip you

For encouraging these drink-soaked 17
Orgies
Enough
Get rid of this
Perverted
He pulls the ivy from them; he tries to grab their Bakkhic spears.
Paraphernalia.
The Chorus
Shame shame shame on you, Pentheus,
Show some respect for your elders,
Show some respect for your gods.
Pentheus
Don't you people know – when women
Mix dance and drink, bad things happen.
Teiresias You're a clever and persuasive

Man – Pentheus – but you're not wise.
Intellect held under harness
By wisdom marks a great speaker.
But in your rhetoric you use
Intellect to attack common
Sense. The power of persuasion
Is dangerous in the hands of
An inexperienced intellect.
The god you mock is beyond you –
Beyond your words – beyond
Anything you can imagine,
Beyond the reach even of your
Intellectual rhetoric.
Think, Pentheus! Two gods supply

Our most basic needs: Demeter –
The earth, our mother, who feeds us
The dry food, the grain, meat and leaf 18
Which nourishes us – and now
Dionysos – a new god who
Gives us the moist juice of the grape,
Wine
Which dulls our pain – which brings us sleep,
Which lifts our spirits – a gift
We even offer to our gods.
Wine
Which happily releases us
From the tightened bonds of our selves.
Wine
We drink it and we are
Divine
In Dionysos' dance we become

Prophets – our Bakkhic bodies
Wordlessly perceive great truths.
In his dance we become warriors
On behalf of life. In his dance
We fuse our minds with our feelings
And we become one.
Dionysos doesn't force women

To have sex – Pentheus – no,
When the women dance their bodies
Are – for once – their own, god's gift
Given to do with as they please.
Son – you're a prince – you have power

Over us – your people – and we – your people –
Give you due honour in return.
Dionysos – a god – demands
Just the honour that is his due,
And so we – Kadmos and I – here
Freely give it. You may laugh
At us – a grey-haired pair dressed up
To dance – but dance we will, we must.
You're a clever and persuasive 19
Man – Pentheus – but you cannot
Persuade me to resist a god.
Listen to me – Prince – please listen.

No mortal force is strong enough
To keep the god from your kingdom.
Surrender – pour offerings
Of wine. Crown your head in ivy
And give yourself up to the dance.
The Chorus
Listen. Listen. Listen. The old man knows
Intellect must always submit
To the power of the Scream.
Kadmos Son,
Teiresias is giving you
Good advice. Listen to it.
Don't go against nature – accept
Your god. Remember what happened
To Aktaeon when he boasted
That he was a better hunter
Than Artemis? His own dogs caught
Him, tore him apart and ate him
Leaving only his blood smeared
Over the mountain meadow grass.
Don't suffer the same fate as him.
Come and worship Dionysos

With us. Put this on –
He offers Pentheus an ivy crown.
Pentheus Don't touch me.

Perform your drunken rituals
If you must but don't infect me
With your female stupidity. 20
I intend to pursue this priest
Of yours, this popinjay preacher,
And imprison him.
To his Attendants.
Go! Quickly!
Go! Find his mountain pulpit
And smash it. Take it apart
Stone by stone. Scatter his sermons
To the four winds. Leave him nothing.
I am going to lock the jaws of state
On this man's flesh and bite him
To the bone. The rest of you – go
Search the city. Hound him – hunt him,
This effeminate foreigner
Whose ideas have infected
Our women and stained our marriage beds.

Run him to ground – bind him,
Beat him and bring him to me.
I will see him stoned to death.
Let him die dancing – with his scream
Half-born upon his lips.
Teiresias Pentheus,
Poor Pentheus. You know nothing
Of the dark roads down which your own
Words are taking you. Your intellect
Was already leading you
Away from the garden of sense,
But now, Pentheus – poor Prince,
You have wandered out of your mind.
Come, Kadmos, let us offer prayers
On behalf of this – our lost soul.
We can only beg Dionysos
Not to punish the whole city
For one man's mad recalcitrance. 21
Come on, hold my hand. Let's not fall.
Lean on your Bakkhic spear. Backs straight,
We'll hold each other up and walk,
Geriatrics both. Pentheus,
Poor Pentheus, you will bring
Pain to us. I am a blind man,
A prophet. But what I see now
Takes no skills, no prophecy.
When stupid men say stupid things
Sorrow follows.
The Bacchae
The First Stasimon
The palace prison.

The Bakkhai are in bound.
O Mother
Save me from the fools.
O reverence and piety, the holy golden mother of all the gods, you fly like a golden eagle
far and wide over the earth.
Did you listen to Pentheus?

Did you hear what he said?
Did you hear him slander the Scream?
O Mother
Our god is the best god, the son of Semele and Zeus, he is the greatest god. He is the
Scream.
O Mother
He gives us dances to dance,
He gives us music to play,
He gives us wine to ease our minds.
22
O Mother
The fools who don't think to think before they speak, who think to be clever is more clever
than to be wise, who argue endlessly about argument and who hatch grand schemes
grandly without stopping once to notice and enjoy the pleasures of the present life that is
right before their eyes.
Intellectual fools
Ambitious fools
Philosophising fools.
O Mother
Take me down to a place I can make love in

Take me down to the meadows by the river
Take me down to where the songs flow like water
Take me down to where the Scream resides
Take me down to where my wanting lies
Take me down Bakkhai! Bakkhai! Bakkhai!
O Mother
The god I love does not distinguish between rich or poor but makes his gift equally
available to everyone, the god I love lets us all live a good life right up until our end under
the warmth of the sun and during the sweet blacknessess of night, yes, the god I love loves
all of us, but he does not love the
Fools who think they know better,

Who think they are above us,
Who will not dance.
O Mother
Dionysos frees the Bakkhai from their imprisonment.

The Bacchae
The Second Episode
The palace.
Dionysos, bound, is brought in by Pentheus' Men.
The Men are well armed, as if for a fight.
Pentheus enters.
Man
Pentheus – here's your prey – here's
The beast you sent us out to catch.
We caught him. Although it turns out
He's quite tame. When he was cornered
He didn't kick or spit – did he?
He didn't even try to run,
He didn't blush or blanch, no – no –
He just smiled and gave himself up.
Completely calm, fearless even.
He was laughing, wasn't he?
When he held out his hands for the rope.
'Officer,' he said, 'Take me away.'
It was embarrassing really.
I said, 'Stranger, my orders come
From Pentheus, he wants you caught.
If it were up to me – well then
You'd still be free.'
But Pentheus – sir,
The Bakkhai
The ladies you locked up before,
It seems they are free. They escaped,
Or rather some force freed them,
Because according to the guards
Their manacles burst loose by magic,
The barred doors unbolted themselves
And our men could only watch
As the women walked out of Thebes 24
And down to the river meadows
where they dance now and sing their songs
To their god – Bakkhos – the Scream.
This stranger's coming has brought us
Strange happenings just like you get
At the start of an old story.
What happens next in the tale, though,
That's up to you to decide.
Pentheus
Untie his hands. I have him now,
He won't escape. He's not as quick
As me – are you, stranger? No. No.
Oh, you're very good looking.
(At least that's what a woman
Would say.) The way your flowing hair
Frames your face would send a woman
Weak at the knees. (No doubt that's
The effect you were intending.)

Your pale skin is very soft.
(Presumably you cultivate
Your complexion in the bedroom.
In the bedrooms of our wives.)
Oh yes, now that I have a chance
To look at you I see that you
Are a very beautiful man
But I could take you in a fight,
So tell me, stranger, first question:
Where on earth do you come from?
Dionysos
That's an easy one. Have you heard
Of Mount Tmolos?
Pentheus I've heard of it.

25
Dionysos
Famous for its fields of flowers.
Pentheus
Is it near Sardis?
Dionysos Yes, it is,

In the lovely land of Lydia.
That's where I'm from – I'm Lydian.
Pentheus
And these practices you pass off
As prayers – are they also Lydian?
Dionysos
My prayers are not from anywhere.
My dances come direct from
Dionysos.
Pentheus Dionysos?
Who might he be?
Dionysos Zeus's son,

The divine one.
Pentheus Is he, indeed?

Do you have your own Zeus, then?
In Lydia? Busy – is he?
Popping out new gods for you?
Dionysos No,
We share the same Zeus as you,
The one who seduced Semele –
If memory serves me, somewhere
Very near here.
26
Pentheus You've met him then,
This Dionysos?
Dionysos In the dance,

His spirit enters us.
Pentheus Enters you –

Sounds nice – at night?
Dionysos
In broad daylight.
Pentheus
From the front? Or from behind?
Dionysos
Face to face – he comes to us
During our ceremonies when
He reveals his mysteries.
Pentheus
Mysteries – what sort of mysteries?
Dionysos
Mysterious mysteries.
Pentheus
How intriguing.
You're a charlatan, stranger,
But your act's a good one. Yes –
You almost make me curious
To know your secrets.
Dionysos Our secrets

Can't be told to unbelievers.
If you want to know the truth
You must become one of us.
27
Pentheus
And if one wanted to become
One of you – what would one do?
Dionysos One
Would participate in the dance.
Pentheus
What do dancers get to see, then?
Dionysos
Everything.
Pentheus Tell.
Dionysos I can't.
Pentheus Tell.
Dionysos
Sorry.
I'm sworn to secrecy.
Pentheus
During these rites – this dance – would
Dionysos' spirit try to
Enter me? Like he does with you?
Dionysos
Only if you enter the dance
In the right spirit, Only then
Will Dionysos enter you
Spiritually, just like he does
With me.
Pentheus What does he look like?

28
Dionysos
What he looks like doesn't matter.
The question's what you choose to see.
Pentheus
That's a clever sidestep, stranger,
But you can't fool me.
Dionysos Only fools

See sidesteps when the simple truth
Is right there in front of their face.
Pentheus
Are we the first city to which
You've brought these Bakkhic practices?
Dionysos
You're not the first. Everyone
Around the world is dancing
To our tune now.
Pentheus Foreigners, hah,

That's no surprise, foreigners
Have no self-control. Greek men, though,
Greek men know better.
Dionysos Do they?
Or maybe foreigners just know
The truth – that every man must lose
His self-control sometimes.
Pentheus Not me.

Your secret ceremonies,
Your rites, do you hold them at night
Or in the day?
29
Dionysos At night mostly.
In the dark a person's soul is
More easily opened.
Pentheus Really?
Or is it that in the dark
A woman's hole is more easily
Opened?
Dionysos Your imagination,

Pentheus, would shame the daylight.
Pentheus
You twist words cleverly, stranger,
But I'll make you pay a high price
For this preening performance.
Dionysos
I'll pay, but you'll pay too, my friend,
A fine for failing to applaud
A theatrical god.
Pentheus He's bold,

This Bakkhic actor from abroad.
He's learned his lines – I'll give him that –
But now I'm in charge. I'm writing

The script.
Dionysos
Are you? What happens next?
Do tell.
Pentheus Punishment –
Dionysos Punishment –
Well well well. 30
What awful torments
Have you dreamt up for me?
Pentheus First,
I'll crop your pretty hair.
Dionysos Careful:
This hair belongs to Dionysos,
It's styled just the way he likes it.
Pentheus cuts off Dionysos' hair.
Pentheus
Now – your Bakkhic spear, I'll break it.
Give it here –
Dionysos This weapon belongs

To my god – you'll have to take it.
Pentheus takes and breaks the Bakkhic spear.
Pentheus
Next I'm putting you behind bars.
I want you to see your lovely
Body bruised and bound.
Dionysos Lock me up.

Do what you like. I come and go
At Dionysos' divine will –
Not at your mortal command.
Pentheus Bind him.

Pentheus and his Henchmen bind Dionysos.
Call for your god now – scream. Go on,

The way your women do – scream – scream –
31
Dionysos
I'd rather not in front of you.
Pentheus
You won't call. You know he won't come.
Dionysos
Oh he'll come. He's already here.
He's near me now.
Pentheus Is he? Where?

I can't see him.
Dionysos Really? He's here.
Don't you recognise him?
Pentheus No.
Dionysos
Maybe he just doesn't feel
Like revealing himself before
Your unappreciative eyes.
Pentheus
Enough, I'm sick of wordplay,
This man mocks me and he mocks Thebes.
Dionysos
I mock your mockery, that's all.
I spin words playfully but still
I think it would be wise for you
To listen to me – carefully.
Pentheus
Idiot! I decide what's wise.
I decide. Don't you realise
Who is under whose control here?
32
Dionysos
Oh, poor prince, you still don't see
The position you're in, the reality,
What you're doing here,
How strong I am and your fragility.
You have no idea
Of the part you're playing in this
Tragedy.
Pentheus
I am Pentheus. My part is
Prince and yours is prisoner.
Dionysos
Pentheus – in Greek your name means
Grief – do you think your namers maybe
Knew what was in store for you?
Pentheus
Go – lock him up in the stables,
Shutter him up in the dark part
So his soul is more easily
Opened to the meaning of
His punishment. Let him dance
Among the horse troughs alone.
Meanwhile I'll catch his women
And silence their drums. Some I'll sell
Off as slaves in other cities
And some I'll keep to work the loom
In servile domesticity.
Dionysos
I'll go gladly. Your punishment
Is meaningless to me – empty.
But I tell you this, Pentheus,
The god you do not recognise
Has his spies. What you do to me,
You do to us – you do in fact
To Dionysos – and for that 33
Your punishment will be harsh. Harsh
Beyond your recognition.

The Bacchae
The Second Stasimon
Outside the walls of the palace.

Beside, or in, the waters of the river, the Bakkhai mourn.
River
River
Bring him to me
River
River
Bring him.
O blessed River Dirce, in your clear springs you once held the little baby Dionysos when
Zeus snatched the boy from the endless fire and dipped his tiny body in your cool waters to
clean him and said, 'Come, my fragment, slip between my muscle and skin and grow in
me.' O blessed river, save him from the fire once more.
River
River
Don't leave me
River
River
Don't leave.
Why do you deny our worship? Why do you reject us? Why do you carry away our wreaths
and offerings? One day you will flow with wine, yes, one day your cool stream will flow with
the grape-born god of the Scream.
34
Anger
Anger
Grow in me
Anger
Anger
Grow.
Anger, give us the strength to break down these walls and release our lord, O anger, give
us the strength to smash Pentheus born from the semen of a snake, how he betrays his
origins now, yes how inhuman now, how monstrous his savagery to keep our master
imprisoned and hidden away from the light.
Dionysos
Your Bakkhai are calling
Dionysos
Come to us
Come to us
Dionysos
Come.
We call
We call
Where are you?
We call
We call
Where?
Are you on Mount Nysa, master, walking with your women among the wild beasts of the
woods, or are you scrambling on the scree-edged summits of Parnassus, your spear ready
to throw, or do you make a pillow amongst the pinewoods of Olympus and compose for us
poetry. O Master, where are you? Your Maenads need you.
Dionysos
Come to us
35
Your Maenads need you
Come to us
Come to us
Come.
The Bacchae
The Third Episode
Dionysos, invisible, speaks to the Bakkhai.
Dionysos
O Bakkhai
O Bakkhai
Can you hear me?
The Chorus
Who's there?
Dionysos
It's me, my Bakkhai,
You call
I come.
The Chorus
Who speaks?
Who cries?
Who calls the Bakkhai 'my'?
Dionysos,
Is it you?
Dionysos
Yes.
Yes.
It's me,
The son of Zeus
And Semele.
The Chorus
Master
Master 36
You came to us
Come
We call to you
Dionysos
Come to us
Come.
Dionysos
Drum, Bakkhai,
Shake the ground.
Scream, Bakkhai,
Make the sound
Of praise for me.
Dance, Bakkhai,
Raise for me
A divine earthquake.
The Chorus
Ah!
Ah!
Soon the palace halls
Will fall,
Foundations fail.
Columns and capitals
Collapse.
Dionysos dances us,
He shakes the world
With us.
See
See
Yes
The Scream is released
And the house of Pentheus
Falls.
An earthquake. Pentheus' palace collapses.

37
Dionysos
Light, Bakkhai,
Light fire in me.
From my quiver
I pull an arrow
Of flickering light.
Flame, Bakkhai,
Put flame to the bolt.
I fire it,
It hits
Burns.
Dionysos fires a bolt of lightning at Pentheus' palace.

The palace is engulfed in flame and smoke.
The Chorus Ah!

Ah!
The fires rise,
Light
Burns our eyes,
Heat scorches
The holy ground
Where Semele lies.
Throw down your bodies, Maenads,
Fall! The Scream brings down
The palace walls.
The Bakkhai fall to the ground.
See
See
Yes
Semele's baby screams
Is turned upside down.
Dionysos is revealed.
38
Dionysos
O my Maenads,
Lydian ladies,
Do I see you laid low by fear?
Didn't you just hear the Scream smash
The house of Pentheus? Stand up.
Let go your shallow gasps of fear

And take calm breaths of confidence,
I'm here –
The Chorus Flame of us – you draw us

Like moths to your light. We've been lost
Without you, fluttering in the dark.
Dionysos
Yes. We've been cruelly set apart
But did you really think he could
Extinguish me in his darkness?
Did you lose heart?
The Chorus Of course we did.

We were scared. What would we do
Without you to shelter us?
Tell us. How did you escape
From the madman's snares?
Dionysos No trouble,
It was too, too easy really.
The Chorus
But he had chained you to a trough,
He had locked you in a stable.
Dionysos His attempts to humiliate

Me were an outrage, so I devised
An equally outrageous 39
Escape plan which I knew would bring
Him finally to his knees.
First he tried to tie me up tight
But I stepped aside with a feint –
And misdirected his mind so
It wasn't me he lassoed but
Instead a big old bull stabled
Near me who found himself surprised,
Roped. Floored. Bound. Shackled and gagged
By a pent-up Pentheus
Breathing fury, sweating foam
Biting his lip and roaring.
Me – all the while – sat on straw
In the stalls – enjoying the show
And it was then that Bakkhos
Appeared in the palace. You saw –
He shook the rooms and fired lightning
At Semele's tomb. Pentheus –
Seeing flames – turned fireman
And ran to save his palace,
Darting here and there, yelling
'Do this!' 'Do that!' He made a chain
Of slaves to cart buckets of water
From the river to the palace.
But the men threw water vainly
On the royal conflagration.
Mere thimblefuls fell on the flames,
Then Pentheus looked back and saw
The stable door wide open and
Realised his bull had bolted.
Now he turned soldier – angry, he
Grabbed a black sword and rushed the gates.
And that's when the Scream came –
Or so it seemed. Was it him?
I don't know. I can only say

What I saw and I say I saw 40
The Scream come into the courtyard
And form himself into the shape
Of me! – A quite incredible
Illusion at which Pentheus
Launched himself, slashing, cutting,
Stabbing wildly at the shining air.
Having destroyed the man's faith in
Reality, Dionysos
Decided to destroy the rest,
He smashed the poor man's palace
To fragments, smashed his mind, his life –
And threw the pieces down broken
At his feet. Poor Pentheus.
When he saw how badly
My binding had turned out for him
He dropped his sword and fell beaten
To his knees.
I walked calmly out of there – gave

Him a nod, said – 'Poor Pentheus,
That's what you get when man bites god.'
He's nothing to us now, Maenads.
Nothing.
No doubt he'll come out shouting soon.

Already I can hear the thud
Of manly boot on palace floor.
What will he say I wonder,
About his Bakkhic bondage blunder.
Note to self: stay calm. No matter
How pompously he speaks to me
It's not wise to rise to his bait.
Enter Pentheus with his Men.
Pentheus That bastard Bakkhant foreign priest –

He has humiliated me. 41
I had him in my hands but now
He's disappeared –
Pentheus sees Dionysos.
He screams.
What?
How?
You?
Here?
Now?
How dare you?
Dionysos
Stop! Step away lightly. Stand back
Slowly.
Pentheus You slipped your ropes, how? How?

You beat my guards and gates –
Dionysos Easy.
I did say – you didn't listen –
My stay in prison would be brief.
Someone freed me.
Pentheus Someone – who?

Tell me.
Dionysos The divine grape-giver.
Pentheus
Who?
Dionysos The holy vine-grower.

42
Pentheus
Don't play with words.
Dionysos Dionysos.
Pentheus
I should have known – that god of drink
Who makes our women into sluts.
Dionysos
Into sluts? Your insults and
Unpleasant epithets disgust
Me but – yes – it was Bakkhos
Who sprung me.
Pentheus Is he still in there?
Dionysos
Of course, he's everywhere.
Pentheus Guards. Guards.

Lock every gate, post two sentries
On every tower.
Dionysos Don't bother,

My god can jump your mortal walls.
Pentheus
You really think you know it all,
Don't you? But you don't know me – no.
You don't know your enemy.
Dionysos
On the contrary, Pentheus.
My enemy does not know me,
That's his tragedy.
43
Enter Messenger.
His dress is dishevelled and bloody.
The First Messenger

Pentheus, sir, I come from Mount
Kithairon. I have news.
Pentheus Not now.
Dionysos
Why not? Let's listen to the poor
Man's mountain adventure. Don't fret,
I won't run away, I can't wait
To hear what he has to say.
Pentheus
You – what news is so important

You dare to interrupt your prince?
The First Messenger

I've seen the royal women, sir,
The Bakkhants who ran bare-legged
From the city to the mountain
Under the whip of their new god.
What I saw there was shocking, sir,
Too terrible to tell – truly
Unbelievable, frankly, sir –
But all too true.
Pentheus Get on with it.
The First Messenger

Sir, do you want to hear my tale
Uncut? Or should I trim my sails?
Because I don't want to offend
Your royal sensibilities.
You're not exactly mild mannered,
Sir, do you really want to hear
About your women going wild 44
Up on the mountain? It's quite bad.
Pentheus
Tell the truth and I won't touch you.
The worse you tell of the women
The more evidence I gather
For the trial of him – their tutor.
The First Messenger All right. It was after sunrise

And the cattle were climbing up
Towards the higher pastures
When I came upon a strange sight –
Three covens of women lying
In the forest. In the middle
Of each circle lay a royal
Sister. In one, Autonoe,
In another Agave, and
In the third circle lay Ino.
All the women were asleep.
Some lay on beds of pine needles,
Some on oak-leaf litter, all still.
They seemed so natural, not at all
Drunk or dancing or debauched
Like you said. but at one with
The forest. Well –
Our cowbells must have woken them
Because your mother Agave
Suddenly stood up and shook them
From their sleep. They stretched and rose –
Young women, older ones, and girls –
Waking up – don't worry, I saw
Nothing I shouldn't have – but oh,
It was beautiful sight – pure.
Their hair undone fell naturally
Over their shoulders, some, whose
Fine skins had fallen open in sleep, 45
Tied up their dappled dresses with
Live snakes which willingly wound round
Their waists and even sometimes seemed
To kiss them. Others – who had left
Infants behind in the city –
Took up a baby deer or wolf
Cub to suckle at their dripping

Breasts and take their milk. Then, risen,
The women put on crowns of oak
And flowering jasmine. One then
Took a Bakkhic spear and struck it
On a rock from where a runnel
Of dew sprung to drink. Another
Struck the ground with a stick and hit
A rising well of cold white wine.
Some others used their fingertips
To dig hollows in the dust
Which filled with milk. And they all licked
And sucked the sticky honey that
Dripped from the cones at the end
Of their Bakkhic spears. I tell you,
He's good this god of theirs – he's good.
If you'd only seen what I'd seen
You wouldn't go round insulting him,
Instead you'd offer prayers.
We came together – we cowmen

And shepherds – to discuss the sights
We'd seen and determine a plan.
The women's behaviour was strange
And frightening. We talked together,
We argued for a long time and
Then one man – something of a local
Spokesman – you maybe know him –
He comes to the city – well, he
Said, 'Lads, we work up here, we know
These holy heights, why don't we do 46
Pentheus a favour and snatch
His mother from these Bakkhic rites?
What say we hunt down and capture
Agave? Now – right here.'
Well – it seemed like a good idea.

We hid ourselves in underbrush
Amongst the pine trees and set
An ambush. There we waited for the women.
Soon enough they gathered themselves
Into a circle and began
To sing. They gripped their Bakkhic spears
And let their voices rise to form
A chord. A chord that rose and seemed
To draw into its harmony
All the wild sounds of the mountain.
Animal, insect, stream and breeze
All came together in a hymn
Of praise to Bakkhos, son of Zeus,
The Scream.
Agave's dancing took her near

Our hiding place. So I leapt out
To grab her but she saw me move
And she screamed out to them: 'Hunters!
Quick, my pack of hounds, my bitches,
Swift, take up your spears – we'll hunt
These hunters down.' The mad women
Obeyed her call and in their eyes
Was bloody sacrifice. We fled
Fast and only just escaped
But we got away lightly because –
In their frenzy they fell upon
Our cattle in the pasture and
With their bare hands alone began

To butcher them.
I saw one woman tear apart 47
A heifer with her bare hands – she
Left it bellowing in the grass,
Its bloated udder bleeding.
Others I saw rip calves in half,
Splintered ribs and guts and bone
Scattered everywhere, meat and skin
Hanging from the pine trees, dripping,
The dust drenched in dark red blood.
Even the big bulls tossing their
Horns were thrown down to the ground by
Mere girls, their skin stripped – their flesh flensed
From broken bones. If you'd seen it –
Sir – you'd know now and fear the true
Power of furious women.
You'd have seen your own royal
Princesses gather in a flock
On the slopes of Kithairon,
Then descend like hawks – down onto
The villages in the valley –
Hysiae and Erythrai –
Those hamlets by the riverside
Where the farmers grow food for Thebes
The women attacked, ripping
Every home apart. They stole
Children and bound them to their backs
With seemingly invisible
Bonds that somehow held everything
They stole, be it metal or bronze.
Their hair was a mass of fire
But somehow it didn't burn them.
Unhurt they looted, razed and stole.
The angry townsmen tried to fight
But they were beaten quickly back,
And this is the worst thing, sir,
The sight I could hardly bear to see –
It was not metal weapons which 48
Drew the village men's blood – no, it
Was the Bakkhic spears the women
Use to worship their god – mere sticks
Flung from a woman's hand induced
Strong men to flee.
Eventually
The Bakkhai returned to the woods,
To their wine streams and wells of milk,
Where they lay amongst the needles
And, relaxing, let snakes lick
The blood from off their crimson skin.
So, sir, I've come here to say – please
Receive this god, recognise him,
Welcome him into the city.
His powers are beyond us.
Besides –
The women say he gives us wine,
And wine does take the edge off pain,
And without wine, there'd be no sex
Nor any other female fun
For us poor men.
The Chorus
Tyrants don't want to hear the truth
But the truth demands our voices.
No god's more powerful than ours,
None surpasses Dionysos.
Pentheus
These Bakkhai humiliate us.
Their story will spread like fire
And stand as an open insult
To the men of Greece. Go – men – go,
We must not delay further – run
To the Elektran gate – gather
The soldiers – grab your shields – tell
The men who own fast horses – ride 49
To assembly in the square – call
The bowmen – tell them to fetch
Their bows and their gauntlets – muster
All the men of Thebes and we will
March
To do battle with the Bakkhai.
Any insult should provoke
A quick response from real men.
Never more than when we are
Humiliated by women.
Dionysos
Pentheus. Sometimes you seem
To hear the things I say to you but
You don't seem to listen. You are
Utterly contemptuous – so
Again I warn you – think – hold back.
Dionysos will never let
You drive the Bakkhai from their den
Where they worship on the mountain.
Pentheus
How dare you try to bridle me?
You're lucky you're still walking free.
Shut up or I'll shut you up
Permanently.
Dionysos Pentheus,
However hot you presently
Feel the prick of shame – hide your pride.
It's better not to kick but kneel.
He is a god and you are not.
Pentheus
There will be kneeling, yes – kneeling
Women pleading for their lives
Before I cut open their throats 50
On the slopes of Mount Kithairon.
Dionysos
Pentheus, you will be routed
And your worst fears realised.
You will see your men broken
By women holding Bakkhic spears.
Pentheus
Who do you think you are, stranger?
Whether I have you in chains
Or I let you stand here free
You seem determined to advise me.
Dionysos
My friend, it's not too late to listen.
Pentheus
Listen? And then do what? Submit?
Kneel to a woman's bidding? No.
Dionysos
Let the women come to you here
Unarmed and talk. That's all.
Pentheus Oh no.
I'm not so stupid as to fall
For whatever trap you're setting.
Dionysos
It's not a trap, I'm offering
My good offices to save you.
Pentheus
I'll not have Bakkhos here in Thebes.
It's very simple. Him or me?
Dionysos
My loyalty's already pledged.
51
Pentheus
Then I have no more words to say.
Bring me my sword.
Pentheus' Men bring him his weapons and armour.

They dress him.
Dionysos watches.
Dionysos Pentheus,
Would you like to see a Bakkhic
Ceremony?
Pentheus See? You mean watch,

Watch the women? See what they do?
For that view I'd willingly pay
Any price.
Dionysos We could spy on them?

It might be fun.
Pentheus To see women

Dance blind drunk – debauched – degraded –
Would bring me no pleasure.
Dionysos No. No.

I'm sure it would be hard for you
But still –
Pentheus If that's what it takes

To know the bitter truth, I will.
We could – what? – hide amongst the trees?
Dionysos
They'd see us –
52
Pentheus Even in the dark?
Dionysos
Better to be open.
Pentheus Open.
Yes. That's clever. Act normal,
Walk among them openly.
Dionysos So
You'll let me take you? You're quite sure
It's what you want?
Pentheus Of course.
Take me now. Come. I'm impatient,
Let's not wait a minute more.
Dionysos No,
You want to go soon, I know,
But slow down. Wait. Before we go
I need to see you in a skirt.
Pentheus
A what?
Dionysos Or a dress.
Linen, say.
Pentheus
Dress up in women's clothes? But –
I'm a man.
Dionysos My point exactly

If the Bakkhai catch a man amongst 53
Them he'll certainly be killed.
Pentheus Of course!
You're good – you get inside their heads.
I don't want to end up dead.
Dionysos Who does?

That's why you should listen to
Dionysos.
Pentheus So what's your plan?

How can I become a woman?
Temporarily –
Dionysos Of course.
Let's look inside the palace wardrobe
And see what dresses suit you.
Pentheus
A woman's dress though – it seems so
Wrong.
Dionysos Perhaps you're right, maybe

It's a sight you ought not to see,
The women dancing secretly.
Pentheus
I didn't say that! I'll wear a dress
Or skirt – whatever women's things
You think look best on me.
Dionysos Let's see,

Looks best, yes – let your hair down
For me? Let me see. Hmm –
54
Pentheus What? What?
Do I need something to complete
The look?
Dionysos Something's missing, yes,

An accessory – for your hair –
A band to pull it back? That's it
A diadem –
Pentheus I've got one of them.

Will that be all I need to pass
As a woman?
Dionysos Not quite – a Bakkhant

Always holds a Bakkhic spear
And next to her body she wears
The softest finest skin.
Pentheus I can't!
I can't carry this off.
Dionysos You can.
Pentheus
I don't know how to do the straps.
Dionysos
Learn! You'll die dressed in your own blood
If you try to meet the Bakkhai
In battle.
Pentheus You're right. I must spy first,

Scout out the women's weaknesses.
55
Dionysos
Yes – violence is just what they
Expect. In disguise –
Pentheus I'll maintain

The element of surprise. But
How will I get out of Thebes
Unrecognised?
Dionysos I'll lead you down

Some dark and quiet roads I know.
Pentheus
I'm not sure – When I see myself
All dressed up, then I'll decide.
The very worst thing would be
To have women laughing at me.
Dionysos
I agree. I'll make sure they don't
Realise who you really are.
Pentheus
Right. I will meet these women
Either as a man with my sword
Raised or – as you advise – unarmed,
A woman in disguise.
Exit Pentheus.
Dionysos Ladies,
The trap is set, the bait is laid,
Pentheus will meet the Bakkhai
And he will die at their hands.
Dionysos! If you want him dead –
Which I somehow sense you do –
We will enact your vengeance for you.
But first we ask you – take his mind 56
And open it – make him giddy,
Bring out his feminine side.
Ordinarily he wouldn't
Be seen dead in women's clothes.
He's too desperate to impress us
But when young men get drunk don't they
Just love to put on dresses.
I want to make a joke of him,
Parade him rather prettily
Through the city to the sound
Of Theban laughter. Sweet revenge
After his threats of fire and slaughter.
Me – I'll go to the palace now
And fit the party frock
On Pentheus – the dress he'll wear
For his denouement. I will stage
A gorgeous end for him. Tonight
He'll die,
Torn apart by his own mother,
And as he dies, he'll recognise
The son of Zeus can sometimes be
Quite nice to us and sometimes he
Is quite cruel, but Dionysos
Is a god
And he's very very powerful.
The Bacchae
The Third Stasimon
Lord, if you saw me you would see

Me dancing bare foot on the grass
Lord, if you saw me you would see
Me dance the fading of the stars
Lost in the lovely mist of dawn
Dressed in soft skin like a fawn
Lord if you saw me you would see
Me revelling in nature's goods 57
Eating the green shoots of the woods.
I know you, lord, so this I know

That you are gentle meek and mild
But you will raise your hand to kill
All those who bend me to their will
To worship you is always to be wild.
Lord, if you saw him you would see

How he prepares his dogs and men
Lord, if you saw him you would see
How he wants me chained again
He worships thoughtlessness
And loves his own unholiness
Lord, this is what I want to see
The tyrant kneeling at your feet
The tyrant kneeling in defeat.
I know you, lord, so this I know

That you are gentle meek and mild
But you will raise your hand to kill
All those who'd bend me to their will
To worship you is always to be wild.
Lord, release me in a place of peace

When the hunters' dogs pursue me
Lord, release me in a place of peace
When the tyrant would subdue me
I will dance barefoot in the dew
Under the branches of the yew
Lord release me in a place of peace
Mortals live and mortals dream
My heart's content to hold the Scream.
58
Enter Dionysos.
Dionysos Pentheus!
Come out!
You know you want to.
You're the one who's so keen to see
What Theban women get up to
When you're not there. You want to watch
Our secret rites in secrecy.
Come out!
Pentheus!
Come out here and let's see you
In a dress. In a woman's shoes.
Wearing soft skin like a Bakkhant.
Will your drag act be a success?
Are you woman enough to fool
Your own mother?
Enter Pentheus.
Dionysos has got him drunk.
Oh yes. Princess!
You look ravishing.
Pentheus I'm seeing

Double – there's two suns in the sky
And there seems to be two Thebes.
Can seven city gates become
Fourteen? And you – you've got two horns
On your head – have you always
Had horns? You seem to have become
A bull?
Dionysos Don't worry, you're seeing

The world through Dionysos' eyes. 59
He's making sure you see a more
Spiritual reality.
Pentheus
How do I look?
In the mirror I thought I caught
A glimpse of Ino, my aunt,
Or is it more Agave?
Dionysos Oh,
I look at you and I see all
The royal women of Thebes.
But look – your hair's come all undone.
I spent ages arranging that.
Pentheus
I know, I was dancing in front
Of the mirror. Bakkhically,
You know – shaking my head forward
And back – up and down – just to see.
Dionysos
Let me fix it – hold your head straight.
I feel like your maid, Pentheus.
Pentheus
Thank you, stranger – you're a help.
You know all about women's things.
Dionysos
Look here, your girdle's come loose,
And the dress should hang like this –
Above the ankle –
Pentheus But I thought

It did – it's such a fankle fixing
Pleats –
60
Dionysos
Truly, you'll thank me when you see
The women in the ceremony.
Pentheus
I know. I want to look right.
Do Maenads hold their sticks like this?
Or this?
Dionysos That stick's a sacred one,

A Bakkhic spear. You hold it
In the right hand – that's it – there.
Now you dance –
Yes –
It's nice to see
You coming out of yourself finally.
Pentheus
I feel strong – stranger – like I could
Move mountains – lift Kithairon, carry
The Bakkhai away on my back.
Dionysos
You could, you can, maybe you will.
When a Bakkhant opens her mind
She's capable of anything.
Pentheus
Shall we take crowbars to tear
Open the mountain? Or should
I put my shoulder to the ridge
And push? Just destroy the wood
And kill the women.
Dionysos Don't you dare!

Nymphs live in those woods and Pan
Plays his music there. There's no need
For violence –
61
Pentheus You're right.
You can't Use force against women. No,
Stealth – not might – I'll hide myself
In the pines.
Dionysos This soft fine skin hide

Is all the hiding place you'll need
For this transvestite mission
To spy on women.
Pentheus Imagine,
What will it be like – just think?
Like catching sight of forest birds,
Sweet naked birds caught in the act
Of making love, unaware
Of my eyes watching.
Dionysos That's the plan,

To catch sight of them before they
Catch sight of you.
Pentheus Lead on, stranger,

You must take me through Thebes
Secretly. No one else can come
With us. This lonely task is mine

Alone.
Dionysos Poor Pentheus. Tonight

You'll represent Thebes alone.
Alone you'll witness the truth and
Alone you'll struggle. Alone
You'll come to your understanding.
So. You're in my hands. Come, let's go –
I'll take you there. Someone else 62
Will bring you home –
Pentheus Yes. My mother.
Dionysos
How right you are.
Pentheus I'll not come back

Without her.
Dionysos I guarantee –
You'll come home head held high.
Pentheus Stranger,
It's strange but I feel excited,
Like I'm going to a feast
Tonight.
Dionysos You are – Pentheus –

A banquet. Yes – home cooking.
Pentheus
Food fit for a prince.
Exit Pentheus.
Dionysos Tragic.
Poor Pentheus, you're such a star,
But you have no idea how
Tragic you are really are. You're
About to walk into a scene
Of suffering so horrible
So awful, so cruel, so terrible,
Your story will be heard in heaven.
A tragedy. Your name in lights 63
For ever.
The Bacchae
The Fourth Stasimon
The Bakkhai sing into being the murder of Pentheus.
Come kill him. It's justice.

Come cut him. He hurts us.
Sword slit him. He hates us.
Evil. Criminal.
Tyrannical. Man.
Come, Maenads of madness.
Cause pain to Pentheus.
Go, hounds of madness, go up to the mountain, find the daughters of Kadmos, bite their
eyes open, to the spy who would see them, let Agave first catch him, let her call to the
Maenads, here's a man who's a woman, he's a spy for the Thebans, who has come to the
mountain, he was sired by a dragon, he was not born of woman. Who then? Who bore
him?
Kill cut him. Hurt slit him.

Cult kill him. Hell hurt him.
Cult hate him. Hate fill him.
Evil. Criminal.
Tyrannical. Man.
Come, Maenads of madness.
Who tries to deny us, our god Dionysos, our dances he gives us, who tries to destroy us,
with cunning and madness, sets out to defeat us, death is his corrective, if he had 64
accepted the dance of the Bakkhai, his life would be painless, who tries to defeat us,
rejoice in his downfall, the god comes to help us, we tear him to pieces.
Come Bakkhai, come hell cats.

Claw Bakkhai. Spit bitches.
Laugh Bakkhai. Scream witches.
Show no mercy to
The merciless man.
Come, Maenads of madness,
The Bacchae
The Fifth Episode
The Second Messenger enters.
The Second Messenger

House.
Poor Kadmos' house, you were once
Famous for being lucky. Not now.
Me – I'm not royal, just a slave,
But O house, how I grieve for you.
The Chorus
What is it?
What's happened? What news
Do you bring back from Kithairon?

Pentheus is dead.
The Chorus
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

What do you mean, 'Yes'? What's good?
Are you women pleased at this news?
65
The Chorus
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

How dare you mock Thebes like this?
The Chorus
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Worship your god, that's fine by me,
But it's not right to celebrate
A terrible crime like this.
The Chorus
It's not a crime to kill a criminal
Who's caught in the act.
Messenger. Tell us. Do you know,
How did he die?
The Second Messenger Yes.

Yes. I know how he died. I saw.
I went with them – Pentheus
And the stranger – I walked behind,

Just a slave for the journey.
Together we left the walls of Thebes
And crossed the River Dirce
Where we scrambled up the steep slopes
Of Kithairon. We completed
Our strange pilgrimage when we saw
The Bakkhai resting in the woods.
We stopped and lay down quietly
In a grassy clearing just above
The women, where we could watch them
Unobserved. They sat together –
These Maenads – in a watery glade
Beside a stream under gnarled oaks. 66
Some of them were repairing
Their Bakkhic spears, decorating
Them with ivy. Some young ones threw
Off their fine soft skins and sang
A clapping song, dancing coltish
Steps back and forth on the grass.
All seemed content, lost in their tasks.
Poor Pentheus though was not pleased.
He said, 'Stranger, I can't quite see
Everything clearly enough.
These sluts are dancing naked –
If I could climb a high pine tree
I might get a clearer view
Of these disgraceful females.'
When Pentheus said that
The stranger smiled
And did something quite amazing.
He reached up to one of the tall
Pines – took hold of a high branch and
He pulled,
Pulled the tree down down down
Till it's top tip touched the needled earth.
He held it down as lightly as a boy
Twisting a stem of mountain grass,
A whole tree bent tight like a bow.
This was not normal mortal strength,
I'm sure it must have been divine.
He picked up Pentheus and perched
Him in the top branches then eased
The pine slowly back upright – carefully
Making sure not to catapult
Him off the mountain. My master
Astride the trunk rose skyward
Until at last he sat on top
Of the pine tree like a bright star
Exposed, on show, in full view 67
Of the women he had spied on.
I looked round but the stranger

Had disappeared and then suddenly
A voice – Dionysos? – from nowhere
Echoed round the forest clearing.
'Girls, I've got you a gift. This man
Mocked you, mocked me and mocked my rites.
Take him, my Maenads – he's all yours.'
The voice spoke and the sky was lit
By a bright flash of holy fire.
Time seemed to stand stock still.
The birds and animals fell silent.
The women stood up, listened, cast
Glances about them, uncertain
What it was they had just heard.

Then once again the god-voice urged
'Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.'
And so they did. The Bakkhai rose,
Quick as a flock of starlings
They flew, his sisters, aunts, all
Led by Agave, his mother.
They leapt across the rushing stream,
Jumped the tumbled river rocks.
Filled with the madness of their god,
They hunted my master and soon
They found him on top of the pine tree
Trapped.
Some women scrambled up a cliff
And rained down stones hard onto him,
Young girls tore off sharp pine branches
And threw them like javelins,
Sisters flung their Bakkhic spears.
The air was filled with women's
Weapons aimed at poor Pentheus,
But he was still just out of reach
Perched helpless in blind panic, 68
Holding desperately to the tree.
Now the women tore raw timber
From off nearby oaks and drove
Thick stakes deep into the roots
Of the pine to try to crowbar
It out of the earth, but no –
The tall trunk was unmovable.
So then Agave spoke: 'Sisters,
Let's fling this bird from his high nest
Before he flies away and sings
Our secret songs abroad. Come,
Stand in a circle, grab a branch
And all pull.' A thousand hands
Fell upon the tree and heaved.
They tore the trunk up out of the ground.
Pentheus – from his high perch – fell.
Thrown from the sky he crashed
Down to earth. And as he fell
He suddenly foresaw
The awfulness of his fate
And he screamed and screamed and screamed.
His mother was the high priestess

Of his pain – the first to fall on him.
Pentheus threw back his hood.
He wanted her to know him
And not kill him. He pleaded, begged,
'Mother, Mother' – he touched her cheek –
'I'm Pentheus, your son, Mother.
You bore me, take pity on me.
I made a mistake, don't kill me.'
Poor Agave,
She was out of her right mind, mad.
Her eyes burned with Bakkhic bloodlust.
She couldn't recognise her son.
She stood in front of him and took
His hand in hers. She gripped him hard 69
And then – filled with divine strength –
As easily as if she were
Picking a flower – she ripped
His arm off at the shoulder
And left his rib cage gaping, torn.
Aunt Ino took his other arm,

Stripped the flesh, and snapped the bone.
Then Autonoe and the whole mob
Of women pressed in and dug
Their bloody hands into his chest.
They pulled out lung and liver, heart
And gut and threw them all away.
The forest filled with women's shouts,
Their cheers and the awful cries
Of Pentheus –
Screaming
Screaming
Until the last of his breath was
Gone.
Fragments of his body lay strewn

Across the forest, smeared over
Rock and scree or caught on thorns,
His corpse everywhere and yet
No whole part of him anywhere –
Except the head, his wretched head.
Agave had got hold of it,
She'd pushed it down on
A Bakkhic spear and raised it up
In her arms – as if she'd caught
A mountain lion and displayed it.
She left her sisters singing
In the wood and carried her horrible
Trophy down the rocky slopes
Of Kithairon to Thebes – singing
To Dionysos, her companion
In the hunt, the one who helped her 70
Achieve her sorry victory. Now
She dances, she exults, happy
With this her awful prize of grief.
I got here before Agave,

She'll be here soon. So, you see,
I saw it all and I escaped
But then I've always been careful
With gods. I praise them. Sing hymns
To them. Pay them full attention.
Because if you don't –
Well
It doesn't bear thinking about.
The Bacchae
The Fifth Stasimon
The Chorus Yes! Yes! Yes!

Sing, Theban women.
Sing in honour of Bakkhos

Sing the death of Pentheus
Snake-born Pentheus
Who dressed like a woman
Held a Bakkhic spear
And let the bull lead him
To the death that was due him.
Yes! Yes! Yes!

Sing, Theban women.
Sing of your victory

Told of in history
Made into tragedy
Mother fought with her firstborn
It was the woman who won
What a trophy to hold up
The head of your son.
The Bacchae
The Sixth Episode
The Chorus
Quiet. The Bakkhai lose themselves
In the Scream but afterwards
We come back to our right minds with dance
And drink. Look – I see Agave –
Will she join our celebration?
Enter Agave, carrying the head of Pentheus.
Agave
Bakkhai of Asia – I am Agave.
The Chorus
Where have you come from?
Agave
Down from Kithairon
Can I join you?
The Chorus You can.

What do you bring us?
Agave
I bring you this wild flower
Cut fresh from the mountain
With our god's blessing,
This is my offering.
The Chorus
Sister, you're one of us,
You worship Dionysos,
Come now and talk to us.
Agave
Look at him – my lion so
Young, strong and wild.
72
The Chorus
Where did you trap him?
Agave
Up on Kithairon,
But we didn't need traps for him.
The Chorus
Who was it who killed him then?
Agave
Me – he had life and I took it.
His death was a gift to me,
My sisters all call me now

Lucky Agave.
The Chorus
Which sisters were with you?
Agave
The daughters of Kadmos,
There's no braver hunters.
I was the first though –
I was the first of us.
This huntress was lucky.
The Chorus
What will you do with him?
Agave
Eat him.
I think.
Eat him.
Yes.
Eat – go on.
The Chorus
Which bit is the best of him?
Agave
He's all good – tender – like veal –
Pink. Soft hair. He's a young one.
73
The Chorus
A young one, a wild one.
Agave
Our god's a great hunter,
This beast was his target.
He conjured a scream in us,
We Maenads were fearless.
The Chorus
Our god's a great hunter.
Agave
He gives us the good things.
The Chorus
He gives us the good things.
Agave
Now Thebes will know him.
The Chorus
Thebes, yes, and Pentheus.
Agave
He'll see what god gives us,
Be proud of his mother
For doing god's bidding,
For killing this lion.
The Chorus
What more could he ask of you?
Agave
Exactly – what more?
Nothing more.
The Chorus
How do you feel now?
Now it's all over?
Agave
Feel? I feel happy.
It's a dream – I've done something, 74
Gone further – gone far away,
Passed all my limits
And extinguished this life
This life that was given me.
The Chorus Poor woman, the battle

Has obviously scarred you.
Show us – show Thebes this,
The proof of your victory,
Raise up your trophy,
The head you've been carrying.
Yes! Yes! Yes!

Sing to your people.
Sing of your victory.
Agave Thebans,
We live in this city,
Whose fine towers stand watch over
Our fields and our meadows. Thebans,
I bring you a sign of new glory,
A hunting trophy won by us. We –
The daughters of Kadmos – caught him
And we didn't use javelins,
No – not like in Thessaly – nor nets,
No – not even knives. We women used
No blades but these – our own bare hands.
So men,
Don't go boasting of catching lions
When you're gussied up in armour,
Holding your big sword proudly.
We sisters did it bare-handed,
Caught, killed and dismembered – this lion,
This beast.
Where is my father? Where's Kadmos?

And where is Pentheus? Call them. 75
And have them bring ladders. Let's nail
This lion's head to the lintel
Above the gates of the city,
A gift – from the new god – to us,
To Thebes.
Enter Kadmos.
With him are Men carrying the body of Pentheus in sacks.
Kadmos Here. We'll leave him here for now.

In front of the palace. Leave him.
We've carried this sad burden
Long enough. Poor Pentheus.
What's left to us? You were scattered
All over the forest. We looked and looked,
It was a hard search. Hard for us,
But we gathered you – what we could.

The rest of you – that lies lost
In the skirts of Kithairon.
It was here that they told me – here –

Of the horror that happened to you.
I had just come back from the dance
We danced with the Bakkhai last night,
Then Teiresias and I walked
Back through the gates of the city.
Here – in front of the palace –
I heard my daughter had killed you –
Killed you –
You who I'm bringing home now – her child –
Dead at the hands of the Maenads.
I went back to the mountain – me
And our men – and found the women,
Poor Autonoe, poor Ino.
Still lost in their wildness, still mad,
And as for Agave, they said 76
She was coming here. Still dancing
In a Bakkhic trance. Well, they were
Right because this is her – here – now.
I can't bear to look at her.
Agave Father,
Tonight you can see your friends
And raise the boast that your seed made
The best daughters of any born
On earth. Especially me.
A woman who left her weaving
And pushed herself beyond limits,
Hunting beasts with her bare hands.
Look – I brought back the proof for you.
It's a mountain lion – take it –
Hang it on the lintel – hold it –
Raise it above your head and cheer,
'My daughter did this – my daughter!'
Kadmos
O Agave – I look at you
And I just see pain –
You murdered him with these sad hands.
You've offered your proud sacrifice
To the god and now you call Thebes
And me to join you in a feast.
No. No. That you must face your fate –
That this is true – that I am here –
No.
Dionysos has destroyed us,
His own house he's broken apart.
The punishment was just – but – no.
Agave
Dear me – Father – you're so grumpy.
Honestly – I know you're old but
Cheer up! 77
I know that Pentheus can't hunt
As well as me – I wish he could.
Is that what's put you in a mood?
I know it is but – look – my boy
Seems to like picking fights with gods,
Not hunting beasts. You should tell him,
Father – guide him about this – yes.
Call him,
Bring him here.

Can someone call Pentheus?
I want to see his face
When I tell him what I've done,
The look on his face.
Yes.
Pentheus.
Pentheus!
Kadmos
No. No. If you come to yourself
All that will be left for you is
Pain – beyond endurance – endless.
Stay mad – stay in this state – stay lost.
You can tell yourself you're lucky,
You can pretend the world is right.
Agave
What part of the world is not right?
Kadmos
Look up at the sky, Agave.
Agave
I'm looking up – what should I see?
Kadmos
Look at the blank sky – clear your mind.
Agave
It's so white today – so clear –
78
Kadmos
The sky's clear but is your thinking?
Agave
I don't understand. I'm confused,
I feel the leaving of something.
Kadmos
I'm going to ask you some questions.
Will you answer them for me?
Agave Yes.
Father – has there been – some kind of
Forgetting here?
Kadmos Yes, forgetting.

What was the name of your husband?
Agave
I married Ekhion – didn't I?
Kadmos Yes.
And what was the name of your son?
Agave
Pentheus, of course. Pentheus.
Kadmos
And whose head are you holding now
In your hands?
Agave A lion.
Kadmos Look at it.
Agave
They said it was a lion.
79
Kadmos Look.
Agave
They said –
Kadmos Look.
Agave looks.
Agave
No.
Kadmos
Now you know.
Agave Pain.
Kadmos
No lion.
Agave
Oh no. No. No. No. Pentheus. No.
Kadmos
Love, I've held your sorrow for you.
Now it's yours.
Agave Who killed him? Why? How

Did I come to be holding him?
Kadmos
What happened is too hard for truth.
You could bear it more easily
If it were just a story.
Agave Tell me.

My heart's pounding – something bad – what?
80
Kadmos
You killed him. You and your sisters.
Agave
Where did he die? At home? Here? Where?
Kadmos
Kithairon.
Agave O poor Pentheus.

Why was he up there? Why was I?
Kadmos
He came to spy on the Bakkhai
And mock your god, Dionysos.
Agave
Why did we kill him? I don't see.
Kadmos
The Scream took you out of your minds,
You and all the royal women.
Agave
Dionysos has destroyed us.
Kadmos
You insulted him, denied him,
You doubted his mother.
Agave
Where is the body – the body
I bore – where is my boy? Father?
Kadmos
Here – we looked for him – we found him.
Agave
My boy – he was so beautiful –
Is he still?
81
Kadmos No –
You would not recognise him now.
Agave
Why Pentheus? Why me? Why us?
Kadmos Pentheus denied a god.

So did you – so did your sisters.
So Dionysos punished you.
He destroyed this house and me –
I have no male heirs – this son
Who came from your womb was mine
And you killed him – poor woman – you –
Shamefully – terribly – killed him.
Poor Pentheus – you were my son –
You sustained me – you led the house –
Protected me – my daughter's boy.
No one dared insult this old man
When you were present in the room.
They knew you would punish them hard.
But it turns out that I'm the one
To face the hardest punishment.
I must expel myself from Thebes.
Instead of fame I will bear shame
Until the last of my days pass.
I – great Kadmos – who sowed this line
Will reap the harvest of my seed.
Dearest of men – you are no more,

But you will always be loved, child,
By this old man at least. O child,
You will never touch my cheek,
Never say my name, never ask
'Who's hurt you, Father – who, Father?
Who's causing you pain – who, Father?
Who is wronging you – say, Father.
Who is disturbing your heart? Who? 82
Tell me so I can punish them.'
But who is punished now, my son?
Me? I am destroyed. Your mother?
Her suffering will be endless.

Your family is nothing now,
And you – poor Pentheus – you're gone.
If any gods are watching me,
Look at my dead son and ask
Yourself what does it mean to be
Divine? This is what it means. This.
The Chorus
I'm sorry for you, Kadmos. Your son
Deserved to be punished but
God's justice has been cruel to you.
Agave
Poor Pentheus, how can I grieve
For you? How can I lament?
When I can't even hold you in my arms.
When I can't pull you to my breast
And keen over your body, weep
On your shoulders which you held with
Such a proud royal bearing
On the days when you led your men.
Is it not every mother's right
To grip her son's flesh one last time
In lamentation?
How can I know your death is real
When I haven't felt the warmth leave
You with your dying breaths? Poor son,
Can't I even wash your body
Tenderly, and lay out your corpse
According to our old customs?
Is it not every mother's right
To look after her son one last time?
No – it is not my right to weep, 83
I must be denied my son,
My life, and even my own grief
Because I killed you. I did this.
I was a mother and a queen.
It was my work to make you – you,
Who would, one day, rule Thebes as king.
You were my work. You were my love.
You were my dream. You. Now nothing –
Not a particle is left to me.
Even if I crawled on my knees
In the forest I would not find
Enough of you to gather up
And form a handful of flesh
For me to hold, and kiss and weep.
This stuff, this muscle, bone and blood
Is the man I bore, I made, nursed
And saw to manhood. Now he's dust.
Gone –
At least I still have your face –
This dear face – your soft face – to kiss
Goodbye – Pentheus.
There – I'll hide your head with my veil
And put a rough blanket over
Your ploughed-up limbs.
See, Father, see how all tomorrow's
Hopes have turned into today's black
Emptiness.
See.
Nothing.
Dionysos enters, a god, in all his glory.

Dionysos
This scene is hard to watch. This grief.
It brings no joy to me to see
A mother weeping for her boy.
A grandfather destroyed. A house – 84
A great city – spoiled for ever.
I knew the ending when I wrote
The script, but still – to see it – here
In front of me, played out for real,
It's cruel.
Agave
Dionysos!
Dionysos That's me.
Agave
My god.
Dionysos You recognise me now.
Agave
Yes.
Dionysos You know me.
Agave I thought I did.
Dionysos
Thought?
Agave The god I knew would not do this.
Dionysos
Do? I didn't do anything.
Pentheus did. Pentheus mocked
My divinity, Pentheus
Came to spy on my rituals,
Pentheus demanded to see
The Bakkhai lose themselves in dance,
So if he lost himself last night 85
Is that my fault? You lost yourself
As well – and all your sisters.
You grieve now but I remember
When you would not grieve for me – for
Semele. I did not force you.
You chose your path, not me.
Kadmos
Dionysos – we did you wrong –
We know that now – we beg you – please.
Dionysos
You know me now, but now's too late.
When you could have given honour
To Semele – to me – your house
Turned its back on us – shut us out.
Kadmos
We've learned that now, but so much pain,
Must it be so much –
Dionysos Yes – it must.

You denied me – I was yours – new,

A god – and you denied me –
Kadmos
Yes, you're a god, and gods don't rage
Like this – it's too much – too human.
Dionysos
Zeus knew what I'd do – he oversaw
My plans for Pentheus – he knows
Now what I've done to you – he knew.
Agave
O my Father – there's no hope here,
We're exiles now – we must go.
86
Dionysos Yes.
Yes, go – go on – it's your fate.
You can't hide from it any more.
If you had all been wiser here
And learned to recognise the Scream
And welcome him willingly – or
Unwillingly – into your lives
You would not have had to know pain.
You and me – us – we could have been
A happy family but no –
Kadmos
Must it be –
Dionysos Yes, it must – Go! Go! Go!
Kadmos
Child – our destiny is pain – come.
You – poor creature – your family
And me – destroyed – We'll go away
And find a home as refugees –
Strangers – amongst barbarians.
We must wander through our lives now,
Bearing a grief which will endure
To Hades – no rest from its pain
Even in death.
Agave
I must face my fate alone now –
Robbed of you – O my poor Father!
Kadmos
You cling to me, child – why do you?
Like a swan winding her neck round
A tired grey-feathered old heron.
Agave
I'm lost. Where will I go, Father?
87
Kadmos
I don't know, child. Your poor father
Has no answers for you now.
The Bacchae
Exodos
Agave
The palace, the halls, the city,
Everything you built is gone.
My marriage bed is lost to me.
All I can do now is say
Goodbye to everything I've known.
Kadmos
Go to Cyrene – in Libya –
The relatives of your sister's
Husband – Aristaios – maybe
They'll take you in.
Agave Maybe. I'll see.

Father, I'm afraid for you – I'm scared.
Kadmos
And me for you, child – afraid for
You and your sisters, sad. Sad.
Agave
Wish me farewell. Please. Will you?
Kadmos
I'll wish, but you will not fare well,
Child. You will fare very badly.
Still – I'll say it, I'll wish it. Fare well.
Agave
Lead me out of the city walls,
Help me find my sad sisters there
And together we'll walk and walk 88
Until I can no longer see
Kithairon, and Kithairon can
No longer cast her vile shadow
Down on me. Let me leave behind
The memory of woods, the dance,
The Bakkhic spears, the songs,
The soft fine skins, Let me leave
Those things to other Bakkhai – yes,
I leave those things behind and go.
The Chorus No – you can't choose the gods that you worship
No – you just have to worship them all
No – you can't choose which prayers they will answer
No – you just have to answer their call
No – you can't choose the gods that you worship.
So you must learn to sing

You must sing this hymn
This hymn to the Scream.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.


The Bacchae COMPLETE SCRIPT

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Bacchae COMPLETE SCRIPT

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

9/3/2018 The Bacchae

DIONYSOS (Alan Cumming)

NIGEL LILLEY Production Musical Director

JOHN TIFFANY Director

Enquire about performing rights at:

DIONYSOS a new god

TEIRESIAS a blind prophet

KADMOS retired King of Thebes

PENTHEUS Prince of Thebes, Kadmos' grandson

MAN a henchman to Pentheus

THE FIRST MESSENGER a cowherd

THE SECOND MESSENGER a house servant

AGAVE Pentheus' mother

THE CHORUS followers of Dionysos from Lydia

Enquire about performing rights at:

The action takes place in Thebes

© David Greig, 2007

Enquire about performing rights at:

Dionysos So, Thebes,

Here I am in Thebes – a city

In Semele's blackened womb

Kadmos my grandfather decreed

I have come back and stung you,

The Bakkhai enter Thebes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

We are the Bakkhai

You, you, you

Joy joy joy

To you who come

Bring the Scream

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Enquire about performing rights at:

The First Episode

In front of the palace.

Kadmos Teiresias – my dearest friend,

He wears fine skins and ivy; he carries a Bakkhic spear.

How shall we go to the mountain?

Teiresias No – let's walk. I think

Pentheus What the hell is going on?

City business and I come back

The Bakkhai we've managed to catch

I'm told this charlatan declares

Teiresias, Kadmos, your age

Bind your hands and whip you

Teiresias You're a clever and persuasive

Think, Pentheus! Two gods supply

In Dionysos' dance we become

Dionysos doesn't force women

Given to do with as they please.

Son – you're a prince – you have power

Listen to me – Prince – please listen.

Come and worship Dionysos

He offers Pentheus an ivy crown.

Pentheus Don't touch me.

Our women and stained our marriage beds.

Enquire about performing rights at:

The First Stasimon

The palace prison.

Did you listen to Pentheus?

Take me down to a place I can make love in

Fools who think they know better,

Dionysos frees the Bakkhai from their imprisonment.

Enquire about performing rights at:

The Second Episode