2071 is a “dramatised lecture” by climate scientist Chris Rapley and acclaimed British writer Duncan Macmillan (Lungs, Every Brilliant Thing) that was first presented at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2014, and this year, approximately ten years later, will be staged for the first time in Greece.
It is a theatrical soliloquy based on Rapley’s scientific course and his findings. Analyzing possible solutions, he seems rather cautious about how the problem of overpopulation could be solved and places his hopes upon renewable energy sources, while pondering on what kind of future we want to create.
Manos Karatzogiannis, after a series of successful soliloquies (including Guardian of a Revolution, He, the Other and His Pants, Fleury’s Song) directs Antonis Myriagos with the help of musician Tilemachos Moussas, who performs live – and symbolically – theremin on stage.
In Larissa, at an ancient theatre among modern blocks of flats, in a place where the past and the present have to co-exist, a new life will be born. Starting with music, dancing and Seferis’ poetry, a celebration will be held. Through repetitive dance motifs, drawing inspiration from pop culture, Greek tradition and Walt Disney’s cartoons, a rebirth ceremony will be held in a place where time is reset to zero. Five persons will meet. They will wait. A sixth person will come and they will welcome him. They will bid him farewell and resurrect him. They will dance with him in the dark. Nature will die and will be born again. Man will die and will be born again. Again, in the dark. Music. A New Life. – Antonis Antonopoulos
A traveller along with her aids arrive at an unknown, destroyed land, which is however full of hidden traces from its previous “inhabitants”. The numerous accounts and testimonies found in this place (some are read, others are sung, and others are reproduced by machines) reveal the causes that have shaped today’s reality. The performance Night on Earth directed by Alexandros Koen is a suspenseful thriller, during which the travellers (with the help of audience members) must gather as much evidence as possible.
From the Bible to the Romantics, for two whole millennia, the relationship of Man with Nature has been at the heart of poetic creation. Man is a child of Nature: he cannot exist but on Nature’s terms. Excerpts from the Bible and works of William Blake, Samuel Coleridge, Goethe, Novalis, Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Solomos, and Sikelianos – revolving around Byron’s great apocalyptic poem “Darkness” – are all selectively bound together and complete each other.
An experiential theatrical tour across the visual art installation The Museum of Unnatural History by Dulcinea Compania. Bringing to life Salman Rushdie’s novel Luka and the Fire of Life, Luka and his two favourite animals, the dog and the bear, introduce us to the memories of their adventurous journey into a nature that has become unnatural due to human intervention. Our hero discovers his supernatural agony for animals, insects and sea creatures, as he wanders across a world, where everything is altered, industrialised, degenerated. The reason for his trip: his father has fallen into an eternal sleep and Luka will be able to wake him up only if he solves the metaphysical mystery of the history of Man and Nature.
Based on William Shakespeare’s poem of the same title, the performance The Rape of Lucretia(Lucrece) refers to the sufferings of the planet. Noble Lucretia is raped by the
ruler’s son. To save her honour, she invites her friends and relatives and tells them what has happened. Then she kills herself in front of them. Lucretia’s dead body is exposed to public view, the people of Rome revolts, the ruler is chased away and monarchy becomes replaced by democracy. Lucretia in the performance symbolizes the Earth that is constantly being raped by those holding the power and money. The musical and visual setting accompanying the poetic speech underlines the need to find a way to co-exist on the planet through the prism of responsibility, respect and awareness of the consequences of our actions.
A cocktail paid for by the tourism workers
For most children, summer is the most carefree time of the year. For adults, summer is a very serious matter that requires organization, planning, and money. For some professionals, summer is identified with their jobs. Those who work during the summer, even in exhausting conditions, must conceal their tiredness to avoid dampening the spirits of holiday-goers. Travelers, on the other hand, invest their money in their vacations, hoping to be compensated for the frustrations and fatigue accumulated throughout the year.
The focus is on what often goes unnoticed during the summer: the thoughts that tour guides do not share with the tourists, the conversations among the kitchen staff, and the cramped 20-square-meter rooms where four waiters have to stay, sharing the space with 23 cockroaches.
Are we all equal under the sun or do we bring the already existing inequalities with us into tourist resorts?
Extinction. Heartbreak. Grief. Faith. In you. Who left. And in you. Who came. In the paper that is torn. In the whole family. In Monday evening. And in Tuesday evening. In modern theatre (modern art). And in modern humans. In sweet summertime. In our Argos. In culture. And in the whole of Greece. Death to winter. Death to death. Inspired by Euripides’ The Bacchae and Margarita Liberaki’s Sparagmos (Heartbreak), the characters onstage will attempt to preserve a world made of paper. The performance will try to tell the story of the mythical king Pentheus, also known as “the man of many sorrows”.
Four actors and a musician travel to Arcadia, seeking fragments of the myth. Their goal is to found a utopian community in harmony with nature, following the tradition of the Arcadian Ideal.
From ancient to contemporary times, Arcadia has been the place onto which European thought has projected the idea of a lost paradise on earth. It is a place where myth and reality blend. At the same time, it reflects the issue of Greece’s heterodefinition, given that many of the thinkers who shaped the perception of Greece never actually visited the country.
How far is the Western European mythical tradition of Arcadia from the modern Greek experience? Can we imagine an ideal society today? Can we imagine a life in harmony with nature, or does something like that come in conflict with our modern lifestyle?
Ajax is not there. But Tecmessa is. And she will defend her own version of the story. Amidst the whirlwind of societal developments and twists, humans may lose their centre. How can someone redefine their centre? Are memories real? While the fight against patriarchy and all of its ensuing problems continues, a story about “male” honour and ethics will be told from the perspective of a woman who loved her man, stood by him, and saw her life changing due to literal or metaphorical wars.
Parts of the text come to life through performance and complete Tecmessa’s narration, in an atemporal setting where moments and images are constructed and deconstructed. The soundscape adds to Tecmessa’s mental fluctuations. Can someone describe something that is at once wild and tender? Did Ajax’ life deserve a better fate? What about one person’s feelings for another person? How is love connected to honour?
How long is the journey from adoring football to succumbing to blind hooliganism, stubbing, and causing the loss of human lives? A murder fueled by hooliganism plays out in front of the eyes of a journalist, unveiling ideologies, behaviors, interests, and mechanisms that are not restricted to the rush of some hot-blooded fans, but go much deeper than that.
Through the tools of documentary theatre (interviews with the true protagonists of real-life events, fans, parents of victims, and perpetrators, referees, policemen, and sport group executives), the performance Which Team Are You On? is an ode to the global social phenomenon known as football, and a poetic recording of the sports fan culture and its negative manifestations. A performance that is raw yet comic, mundane yet surrealistic, aiming to raise the audience’s awareness and make them want to go play football with their friends.