The Bacchae by Company of Wolves at Studio Theatre, Edinburgh (Theatre Review) 3 stars

Armed with little more than a backdrop of fluorescent lights in roll-cage trolleys, some pink rope and a bottle of water, Ewan Downie skillfully reimagines Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy as a powerful solo work. He carries the vision of Ian Spink (who The Bacchae is dedicated to the memory of), the director who shaped the show but died soon after it premiered in 2023.

Company of Wolves is a Glasgow-based theatre company that specialises in experimental, physically-driven, and well researched performances. The Bacchae continues this trend, retelling the myth of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, theatre, and ritual madness, as he takes vengeance on Thebes for being cast out at a young age and the impiety that followed. 

Downie plays all characters of the play, from the omnipotent and overconfident Zeus, who births Dionysus from his thigh (only a slightly abnormal birth by Greek mythology standards), to the selectively maternal and ultimately madness-induced Agave. 

Importantly, Downie also plays what would have originally been a 15-strong chorus, and in this retelling, as he explains in a post-show Q&A, the voice of the chorus is central, far from an afterthought as in many retellings. 

A signature of all Company of Wolves productions, movement is crucial to the performance and it illuminates each individual character. The physicality of Downie’s performance is most impressive when portraying characters spiralling into insanity. Downie’s characterisation of Agave as she slips into the animalistic ritual controlled by Dionysus is a highlight. To those unfamiliar with the ancient tragedy, the sheer scale of all these characters and their complexities can blur the plot a little, especially with the short runtime, but the expert lighting helps bring the story back into focus by identifying the characters.

‘It’s like an out-of-body experience’, Downie said, when asked in the Q&A about how he takes on the movement of all these characters before clarifying that it is still very much a physical process. Ultimately though, he decides ‘it’s like whitewater rafting, you have to just go with it’. 

Whitewater rafting might just be a fantastic analogy for this play. Beginning as a calm, lyrical paddle, it descends into rapid storytelling with anxiety-inducing highs. Much like rafting, The Bacchae thrives in embracing chaos and disorder as it examines themes of transition and renewal. While at times you worry you’ve lost direction, ultimately Downie’s performance has you locked in for the entire thrill ride.

Date of performance reviewed: 9th March 2026

Tickets for The Bacchae on tour in 2026:

Stromness Town Hall, Stromness, Orkney — 13th March

Cromarty Hall, St. Margaret’s Hope, Orkney — 14th March

The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen Performing Arts — 21st April

Grangemouth Town Hall — 23rd April

Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling — 24th April

Eden Court, Inverness — 7th May

Eastgate Theatre, Peebles — 22nd May

Corn Exchange, Melrose (with Live Borders) — 23rd May

The Brunton (Loretto Theatre), Musselburgh — 26th May 

CatStrand, New Galloway, Dumfries and Galloway (part of Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival) — 28th May

The Merse, Wigtown (part of Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival) — 29th May

Photo credit: Louise Mather/Company of Wolves