Category Archives: Uncategorized

Theatrical premieres in Athens

From this week, new shows raise their curtain

The premieres are starting to come out, like mushrooms, after the first crumbs…. From this week, the theater returns to its normal rhythms, with the new shows raising their curtain, almost on a daily basis.


The third bell is about to ring immediately in three central theaters:

Giorgos Kimoulis proposes an "Interview": He interprets a discredited, most, a war correspondent who accidentally meets a TV star _played by Dimitra Matsouka. The relationship that develops between them is …conflict. This is the work of Holman and Van Gogh that we met on the big screen first in the Dutch production with the signature of Theo Van Gogh (2003), and then the American one , the 2007 by Steve Buscemi _who co-starred with Sienna Miller.  Kimoulis directs and co-writes the translation and adaptation with Akis Dimos. The scenography is by Yannis Metzikofs. Premiere on Friday 12 October, in the Athens theater, at 21.00. Performances every Thursday and Friday at 21.00, every Saturday at 18.00 and 21.00 and every Wednesday at 19.00.  

On Friday, Grigoris Valtinos also starts at the Ilisia theater (in the photo on the left), with John Presley's play "The Inspector Comes" in his own performance – directing. With him are Odysseas Papaspiliopoulos and Kerasia Samaras, Manos Zaharakos, Kostas Vasardanis, Eftychia Giakoumis and Stavros Nikolaidis.

Third premiere, on Friday, with "Our Big Circus" of Iakovos Campanellis, the show that toured all summer and is now installed at the Acropolis theater, ushering in the new season. Directed by Sotiris Hatzakis and with music by Stavros Xarchakos, the work written in the post-colonial period, carries its pulse to today. They play: George Armenis, Tasos Nousias, Marina Aslanoglou et al.

Source : tovima.gr

In the markets of Manos Hadjidaki, musical tribute at the Badminton Theatre

The Badminton Theatre is preparing to host a musical tribute to the songs of the leading Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis on Friday 9 November 2012.

The series of concerts "The Themes of Greek Music and Greek Song", edited by the composer Michalis Koubios, begins with a concert event. Much-loved songs from the colorful planet of Manos Hadjidakis, as they were recorded in the discography as works with the titles "Popular market" and "Roman market", where one of the performers was Ilias Liugos.

My mother, The Cypress tree, There is a dance in Lavrio, It's dawning, (It goes) The train left, A magical city, He came from the north, came south, Paper moon, Love for being a double-edged sword, Wide sea, The mandolin, The sea is deep... Indicative few titles from the program, to be overwhelmed by the charming musical language of the great Greek composer. Yes, Manos Hadjidakis was a charmer. And this charm of his is the quintessence of his music, which disturbs our senses and thinking.

They sing (in alphabetical order): Calliope Vetta, Christos Thebeos, Ilias Liugos, Andrianna Babalis, Orpheus Peridis.

Source : culturenow.gr

The "Anonymous" of Syntagma Square

The film by the young director Dinos Panagokos made a sensation at the Premiere Nights

It's just 29 years old and determined to conquer cinema, even if he realizes how elusive such a dream seems in today's Greece; especially for young people. His name is Dinos Panagokos and the first sample of his work was seen during the last film festival Premiere Nights Cosmote. His short film "Anonymous" was screened in the new competition section of the event and may not have been awarded, but it made a sensation.

The ten-minute long film is very topical even though Mr. Papagokos points out that "journalism must be current, not the art". And he has every reason to say so because "Anonymous", the 24 hours of a closure (Panos Kranidiotis) which is slowly degenerating, "disappears" in today's Syntagma Square, was born several years ago in the director's imagination. Long before Greece began to experience its current drama.

Actually, the birth of the idea of ​​"Anonymous" dates back to 2005 at the time when the future director was writing a poem. The poem became a story and the story became a screenplay.

But the script would never have been realized if the producer Telemachos Sarlis had not been in the middle. Childhood friend of Dinos Panagokos, Mr.. Charles speaks with equal passion about cinema as his partner. The two leave the impression that the spirit of cooperation in such times is A and Z.

Dinos Panagokos was born in 1983 in Athens and is of Arcadian and Laconian origin. He studied chemistry at the Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the science department. But he gave up. A self-taught filmmaker with a huge passion for cinema, he started working at Boo Productions in the production department.

A conversation with him is started by Francois Truffaut, it goes through Theodoros Angelopoulos and ends up with Andrei Tarkovsky. "The need to express myself through cinema is internal," says D. Panagokos "but I am not sure what exact need it is. Because the more I learn the more my anxiety expands, the more limited I feel is the scope of my knowledge".

And financial difficulties; The heavy atmosphere of the time; The disappointment; Mr. Panagokos smiles remembering a phrase of his absolute idol, of the pioneering Central European inventor, Nikola Tesla: "I give you this present. The future belongs to me".

Source : tovima.gr

Egon Wolff's Paper Flowers, At the Ilisia Theater

Ilisia theater will present in alternating repertoire the play "The inspector is coming", Egon Wolff's work titled "Paper Flowers" each Monday and Tuesday, from 8 October 2012.

Chilean author Egon Wolff's masterpiece "Paper Flowers", will be presented by Katerina Lechou and Aris Servetalis, directed by Kostas Filippoglou, which is in the final stretch of rehearsals with the two protagonists, in order to discover and illuminate the aspects of this very special work.

It is a gritty and poetic exploration of human nature in search, claims, begs and defeats in the struggle for love, acceptance, imposition and dominance. A revealing anatomy of the never-ending battle of the sexes, of classes, of ideologies and diversity, that makes up this beautiful and wild world.

The performance of "Paper Flowers" at "Ilisia", goes up translated by Eva Bitha, scenery- costumes by Yannis Metzikof, lighting by Melina Masha, special constructions of Guy Stefanos, music by Lost Bodies and with the artistic collaboration of Frosos Korrou. The production is by Dimitris and Thodoris Marosoulis. Photographs by Thomas Chrysochoidis. Artistic direction Grigoris Valtinos.

For the project
 The first performance of "Paper Flowers" was given in Santiago 1970 and was considered by many to be Wolff's best work, since it reflects the "keys" of his perspective as a whole: the social gap between the privileged class and the fringe, the struggle between individuals and the isolation of people in their microcosm, the violence perpetrated by society itself, but also people's need for love and tenderness. The poetic discourse of the work enriches the strong structure and contemporary style of Wolff's dramaturgy. Metaphors and symbols are used in each scene progressively until relationships are established between the characters and cause the viewer to become emotionally involved in the relentless conflict between the two heroes. Barracuda is one of “Los rotos”, a poor devil, marginal, homeless, desperate. But he is also cunning, manipulative, completely heartless. He breaks into the house of Eva, who is his opposite: civilized, refined, honest and clear. The conflict between them could happen anywhere, so Eva's apartment eventually becomes a global battleground..


For the author
Εgon Wolff
Egon Wolff was born on 1926 in Santiago, Chile, from German parents, who believed in conservative education and adherence to traditional values ​​and ethics, beliefs that led Father Wolff to the decision to put his son in a military school, from their age 14 years, in order to distance him from his already apparent artistic nature. But his mother's rich library and especially Thomas Mann's books, of Kafka, by James Joyce and William Faulkner, they had already exerted their own influence on young Egon, who wrote his first novel entitled "Twilight" at age 16 years. A severe bout of pneumonia and his fragile health could only thwart his father's plans for a military career, so Egon Wolff studied chemical engineering. He worked for several years in this field, in the field of commerce and industry, which gave him the opportunity to mingle with people from different strata of society and to understand the essence of the issue of "class difference" that he would later depict in his works. At the same time, he began to cultivate playwriting, influenced mainly by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. His source of inspiration and biggest supporter was Carmen Pena, whom he married 1953. The 1960 won a Fulbright Scholarship and attended the Yale School of Drama. Only after the age of 53 years Wolff devoted himself exclusively to writing, although from the 1979 he taught at the Escuela de Teatro at the University of Santiago. Deeply politicized, he could not but most of his works reflect the tension that existed in Chile between the rich and the poor. When Wolff's first play "The Owl House" was staged 1958, Chile enjoyed a democratic period, but tensions between social classes were intense, as in other Latin American countries: in the countryside between the peasants and the landowners and in the cities between the workers and the middle class, a continuous struggle that manifested itself especially after the elections and the victory of Salvador Allende 1970, year that "Paper Flowers" went up in Santiago. Works by Egon Wolff have been translated into 19 languages ​​and have been presented in 27 Countries. Other works of his: "The Invaders" (1963), "Tell me about Laura" (1985), "Dinner Invitation" (1993), "Behind Closed Doors" (2000), "The Crossroads" (2000), "The recommendation" (2003).

A few words about the director
Kostas Filippoglou
Kostas Filippoglou began his theater studies in Athens and continued his education abroad with teachers such as Peter Brook, Ariane Mnuskin, and theater organizations such as the Théâtre de Complicité. From the 1985 worked as an actor mainly with the "Theama" group of Yiannis Kakleas and the "Theater of the South" in Amore. From the 1999, he works mainly abroad with the Complicite theater group, taking part in the group's performances and workshops in M. Britain, Europe and the USA. From the 1997 has taught acting and theater both in Greece, as an assistant professor in the theater department of the University of Patras, as well as abroad at the Complicite laboratories, in MATAN, Israel, in the USA at the Lee Strasberg Institute, at the Actor's Studio, at the Actor's Center etc.

The 2011-2012 directed and acted in the play "Civil Disobedience" performed at the "Kakogiannis Foundation" in Athens and at the "Artos" theater in Nicosia. He also wrote and directed the play "Orestes-Electra 0-1", which was played at Bios in Athens and Cyprus. His Autumn 2012 will play in Paris at the theater “Bouf du Nord”, the collective creation "Ekti Epirus", with dramatist Daniel Pennac, directed by Lilo Baur and produced by Peter Brook.

Source : culturenow.gr

Our big circus at the Acropolis theater

The State Theater of Northern Greece, in co-production with the Acropolis Theatre, after the very successful tour in theaters all over Greece, presents to the Athenian public, the production "OUR BIG CIRCUS", of Iakovos Campanellis, in music & conductor on stage by Stavros Xarchakos. Direction: Sotiris Hatzakis.

They star: George Armenis, Tasos Nousias, Marina Aslanoglou. Singer: Zacharias Karounis

"Our Big Circus", this emblematic work of Iakovos Campanellis, is a station not only for the modern Greek theater, but also for modern social and political Greek history.  Through songs and satirical and dramatic episodes, the work runs through all the important moments of Greek history: the ancient world, Byzantium, the Turkish occupation, his revolution 1821, the reign of Otto, the Asia Minor disaster, his war 1940 they are only some of the main stations of the course described in this project-document, which remains unchanged over time and as relevant today as ever.

"Our Big Circus" was staged for the first time this summer 1973 at the Athinaion Theater. Stavros Xarchakos wrote the music for the show and Evgenios Spatharis edited the sets. The protagonists of the show are Jenny Karezis, Kostas Kazakos, Dionysis Papagiannopoulos, Christos Kalavrouzos and Timos Perleggas. Performer of the songs is Nikos Xylouris. The massive turnout and great public response to the first upload of the work upset the dictatorial regime, which forced the show to stop. After the fall of the dictatorship the show was staged again at the Acropolis Theatre.

Thirty-nine years after its first presentation, the work was staged again by the KTHBE, in co-production with the Acropolis Theatre, with Stavros Xarchakos, the leading composer whose music characterized that first performance of ΄73, to be present on stage himself conducting his 9-member orchestra while the audience will watch the current protagonists: Giorgos Armenis, Tasso Nousia, Marina Aslanoglou and Zacharias Karounis in the song.

Thoughts on the Art Director's work & Director of the show
"Our Great Circus" is a testimony to the timelessness of our National adventure. A folk epic in which the virtues but also the pathologies of the race are written in relief, the ups and downs, the struggles and anxieties of a people, which laden with its heavy history, tests his stride towards the oracle of an ambiguous future. An immersion of the Patriarch of post-war dramaturgy in the "divine comedy" of the merciless Greek narrative.

It was described as the "social phenomenon" of the summer.
In 40 stations of a triumphal tour attended it 100.000 spectators.
"Our Great Circus" returns to its "home"., 
at the Acropolis Theatre, after 39 years.

Source : culturenow.gr

ActionAid: Organizes an experiential report on life in Africa

"Be in my place" in the "Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens

An experiential exhibition is organized by ActionAid in the "Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens, at 9, 10 and 11 November.

In the exhibition "Step into my place", visitors will have the opportunity to experience the living conditions of the people of a poor village in Kongelai, Kenya.

What is an African community like?; How do its inhabitants feed themselves?; How big is a hut; What does looking for water mean?;

Within approx 20 minutes, audiovisual material, experiential activities and artifacts from Kenya will transport visitors to the reality of the people of Africa.

The living conditions will also be conveyed by the ActionAid volunteers who lived for a week in Kongelai, Kenya together with pastoralist families in one of the most arid and remote areas of the country.

They will be there to give information and share their experience.

The exhibition is organized on the occasion of 40 years of ActionAid.

Alongside, a photo exhibition titled: 'Africa through the eyes of volunteers' drawn by ActionAid volunteers from solidarity trips.

also, five African-themed documentaries will be screened.

Find more information about screenings at: www.actionaid.gr/events

"Technopolis" of the Municipality of Athens, Hall "Nikos Gatsos" (Building "D12") and in the courtyard D12, Piraeus 100, Gas pedal.

Hours of operation :

Friday 9 November, 15.00 with 22.00
Saturday 10 November, 11.00 with 19.30
Sunday 11 November, 11.00 with 20.00

Admission to the experiential exhibition costs 2 euro (free for children).

On Saturday 10 November on 20.30, there will be a celebration for ActionAid's Child Sponsors. Volunteers and Contractors will transport visitors to Africa. Entrance to the celebration is free and the event is open to everyone.

Source : tovima.gr

CRETE ONE "ACCORDING" IN CHANIA

After battles in Tolkien's work, order are the… rides and skewers for Vigo Mortensen, In shooting for "Two Faces of January" alongside Kirsten Dunst

In the beautiful old port of Chania these days the cast of the film "The Two Faces of January" are, As shooting has begun in Crete since last week, From the archaeological site of Knossos and the small village of Kallikratis in the area of ​​Chora of Sfakia.

The first official photo of the film, which is a cinematic transfer of Patricia Haysmith's homonymous novel that was published in '64, With the Trinity of the protagonists Vigo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and Oscar Aizak made her appearance on October 1st, making us already look forward to the film that will come out in theaters no earlier than December 2013.
The movie, American, English and French co -production, is Josen Amini's directorial debut (nominee 1997 For an Oscar for the "Wings of Love" and responsible for the "Drive" scenario for the "wings of love"), who also signs the cover of the story – a thriller in which a pair of Americans is involved, A young student and a policeman who accidentally kills one of three.

For the needs of filming in Crete, Production has rented rooms in 4 different hotels in Chania, While in the fortress of the firk they are used up to 15 Cells as a base where all preparation is made before the clack hit (hair, the make -up of the actors, The costumes etc.).
Like any movie that plays in another era and must be faithful to its style and culture, "Two Faces of January" host in the plate cars of the early 1960s: old coach, BMW and Aston Martin of that time, while in… supplies have contributed Heraklion, Athens and Livadia.
The protagonists, however, are circulating with modern cars, As three saab have been made available for their transfer 9-5 Aero and at their disposal they have 3 self -caravan as dressing rooms.
The volume of production completes 10 trucks who have switched to Crete from Athens – each with different equipment (lighting, makeup, stage elements), while van of 9 positions are available to the workshop for his movements (overall, At the workshop they work 143 Greeks and 33 foreigners of different ethnicities).

Light up the port

In the week we are going through, in Chania, Cameras work for shooting in the halepa district, In the monastery of Agia Kyriaki and in the Old Town. The big spin, Nevertheless, will take place on Saturday, So the whole Haniotian port will be illuminated.
With eyes on Crete, Well, We expect the arrival of production in Athens, within about two weeks, In order to turn scenes in the Acropolis and Plaka.
In between, Vigo Mortensen is riding his undisturbed, as we learn, In the alleys of Chania, Enjoys his skewers and beers, that he likes very much, With no one realizing that the charming Dan was a protagonist in the epic trilogy of "Lady of the Rings".

Book
The book "The Two Faces of January", on which the movie is based, Released in Greek by AGRA Publications.

Source : ethnos.gr