‘Europe is in a dangerous place’: Theatre Olympics staged against a backdrop of war

In a production of War and Peace by National Theatre Belgrade, actors directly addressed the audience about the possibility of a world without war. Photograph: Marijana Jankovic

Greek theatre director Theodoros Terzopoulos recalls the piercing sense of hope that led to the staging of the first Theatre Olympics in 1995. The idea was forged somewhat befittingly, in the ancient, sacred grounds of Delphi, where he had invited luminaries of world theatre to a festival of Greek drama.

Sitting under the Greek skies to break bread and drink wine with avant-gardists and experimental dramatists he hatched a plan to bring the international community together to connect, perform and hash out artistic differences in a splendid babel of languages, all under one roof.