The question of censorship, of fear and self-censorship hovers over the Greek theater. Actors, directors and people of "Corpus Christi" answer whether they are finally afraid or not

The taxi driver was having fun. arriving at the Chitirio theater, in Gazi, turns around, he laughs and tells me: “Oh! This is the well-known theater; You are going to see this work; Antichrist!». I was lucky because the delivery of the speech was humorous. If I had run into someone from the group that was protesting against Corpus Christi a while ago, the word "antichrist" would fall upon me like an aphorism. Like many people, so I didn't have time to see the show to be able to rank it among those who agree or disagree with my aesthetics, because quite simply some made sure it was taken down because it offends the Divine. So, an unholy show on the Holy Road. Gods on the verge of a nervous breakdown and enraged "believers" have always existed. If you put his photos side by side 1988 from the vandalism at the Opera cinema on the occasion of Scorsese's "The Last Temptation" and those of 2012 from the Foundry, the differences are minimal. But with a closer look you will see something shocking: in today's images, there are many who give Nazi salutes. Things suddenly got serious. Or they've become completely ridiculous. And the newborn question is: We are afraid on the road. We are afraid at home. Why should we be afraid even in the theater?; And, finally, how far we are from a regime (this)censorship;

A few days ago, a misdemeanor criminal prosecution was brought against the performers of the show "Corpus Christi". "Insulting religion and malicious blasphemy jointly and consecutively" are the charges. Although Archbishop Jerome separated the official position of the Church from the theater of the absurd that unfolded outside the "excommunicated" theater, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus finally filed a lawsuit, claiming that religion is defamed. The prosecutor read the text of the American Terence McNally, saw the performance taped and received statements from citizens who said they were offended by the way it portrayed Christ. And, kind of like that, the case took the road to Justice, with the articles 198 and 199 of the Criminal Code to provide for a fine up to 3.000 euros and imprisonment of up to two years respectively to the contributors. And as it usually happens, few of those affected attended the performance. The poster with the Crucified and the few words about the work were enough to send it to the fire outside.

The zealots next door

Laertis Vassiliou explains: "In the prosecution signed by the Metropolitan of Piraeus, three MPs of the Golden Dawn are also involved. Not the stars, some others". The director of the infamous show, sitting in the theater foyer, he is calm now. During the protests, he saw and heard it all: a woman waving a picture of Jesus and a bag hanging from her arm with Marilyn Monroe in the famous pose. People of all ages singing the national anthem and giving Nazi salutes. The slogan "We Messiah have Jesus the Nazarene, you Messiah have antichrist Jew". But also the most personal ones, of the type "Alvane, this will be your grave", with a large portion of the crowd referring to the country they came from before 19 years. The image of the Golden Dawn MP, Ilias Panagiotarou, on the one hand to defend thus generally "the Goddesses" and on the other hand to curse with rare mastery for approx. 2 minutes was typical.

Vassiliou believes that we have passed into a period of censorship, "informal, but very essential. With the memories of what happened in Distomo and Kalavryta still fresh, I don't understand how Greek society can turn to such a solution. See you on Facebook and Twitter, but we'd better take action, not to be afraid to speak. While it used to be almost taboo to say what you were voting for, some who were in the dark and want to return to the news are now openly in favor of the Golden Dawn. And many lifestyle discounters, without any political consciousness, they believe that if a junta comes to Greece, things will be better. In this fanaticism, art is the first to be silenced. But art is what he always said: you don't have to like what you see. Just don't eat it".

It is not the first time that the actors of a show have been taken to court as blasphemers. Based on the hilarious Monty Python movie A Prophet, what a prophet", the comedy of Yiannis Kalavrianou "I am the Divine Infant", starring a man who thought he was Jesus because he was born in a nearby manger, tried and acquitted 2008. The writer and director still remembers the inspiring words approx 100 of brothers in Christ who had gathered outside the Theater of the New World threatening to lynch the actors and spectators who were huddled behind the glass door: "Getting cancer! To cry! We will rush you! We will stone you! We will burn you alive!». The images of the saints had turned into weapons in the hands of the protesters “and if you were unlucky, you would eat Saint Panteleimon in the glory of the country" remembers Yannis Kalabrianos: "In Greece it is very difficult to prove that you are not an elephant. And even harder to prove that you are not the antichrist. The viewer should be free to watch anything. Theater has always dealt with extreme issues. We solve everyday things in the elevator. But the others, that bother and hurt, why should we forever digest them in the closet;».

Only four years have passed since his own adventure, but things seem to have changed for the worse: "You always expect extreme reactions from the extremes. The problem is when extreme reactions become the voice of the average and that these practices have begun to be legitimized. For example, I read in the review of "Odyssey" in a major Sunday newspaper the phrase "it's good again that Golden Dawn didn't notice how gay the companions of Odysseus are presented". It is obscene to bring the thuggery of a minority into the living room of the average person. This is all opportunistic: when PaSoK was at its peak, they were all PaSoK, then came SYRIZA, now they come out with something finished and say it's Golden Dawn. After all, living in cities, we trust a state. When the other doesn't respect it, we can't talk. It's a very good time to get all those mice back into their holes.".

St(r)what days

In the alternative revue "The Wild Boys", there's a tongue-in-cheek number in Golden Dawn, without fear and with a lot of humor. "With humor you disarm them, since they don't have any at all" says director Sakis Papakonstantinou. Except for that particular number, a video is also shown, starring Nicky Crane, leader of a British Nazi organization in the 80s, who the 1992 revealed that he is gay and that he had taken part in gay porn. His "companions" disowned him, declaring themselves betrayed. A year later he died of AIDS. “This footage is a very good example of what these people are hiding behind the curtain. Golden Dawn plays with fear, he wants to establish him in society. Behind the masks, Nevertheless, things are simple: homophobes are homosexuals, ostentatiously philanthropists are hypocrites and patriots fascists". At this time, he feels the numbness that prevails in the theater: "Most people feel the need to get together, not to cause. I'm tired of hearing "be careful, you go home alone, don't provoke". Very few now fight it without fear. It's not about heroism, there's no point in living otherwise".

In the performance "Athanassios Diakos – The return" of Lena Kitsopoulou, which was presented last year at the Athens Festival, Nikos Karathanos played the eponymous hero, brought to today. Two whole months after uploading, mindless and outdated – although there were not a few who combined the movement with the issue of the succession of Giorgos Loukos at the helm of the festival –, the front page of a Sunday newspaper was opening: "They brought out a kebab, horns, Spouse killer Athanasios Diakos". And all this with the blessings of the Golden Dawn, but also members of other parties who could not stand the idea that the Greek theater was crucifying Diakos as another Jesus, so many years after his death.

The actor is still embarrassed by all that happened: "From school they teach us how many things we have lost and not how much we have. We always feel despair over the disasters we have suffered, we have failed countless times as a nation. We hear about how beautiful we were as ancients and as Byzantines, but never as contemporaries. Greeks like camps, hate them, the courts, the civil war. Want, Nevertheless, to be optimistic. Now is a cleaner season, we know exactly what's going on. You used to hide behind your finger and not call it censorship. And the art world has always been afraid, much more in rich and rosy times. Leaving aside the sick minds of sick people who want help, if we think that parties are dead, we will understand that we are freer than ever".

The countless theaters of Athens look like as many hearths of fire as the fear grows. Entrepreneurs who bring in shows from abroad advise black actors and dancers not to frequent bad neighborhoods, for their own good. Theater managers advise directors not to provoke with their statements and performances, for their own good. Seasonal goats that we were used to seeing every Easter together with the stew, they expect a resurrection of the dead and favor the Golden Dawn to become relevant again. The opposite of self-censorship, cunningly minded creators will start putting on "provocative" works as soon as a person sets foot in the theater, even if he holds crosses and icons. THE,whatever happens, Nevertheless, one thing is certain: it's time to wake up and understand what is happening to us. It is not good to sleep either inside or outside the theater. No matter how tired we are.

Source : tovima.gr