{"id":463,"date":"2017-10-30T15:15:14","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T15:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/16\/?p=463"},"modified":"2022-02-28T21:01:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T21:01:05","slug":"greece-on-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/16\/greece-on-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece on Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Irene Moundraki*<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The theatre landscape in Greece is impressive. There are hundreds of productions in a single season. In fact, the season has no beginning and no end, and all kinds of venues are ready to welcome them; ranging from conventional theatres to alternative spaces, such as warehouses, bars, trains, museums, houses. In Athens alone, there are more than one hundred and fifty venues currently hosting theatre shows.<\/p>\n

To put it in numbers: in 2013, 1,050 performances were presented in Athens alone. In 2014, the number was 1,447 and, in 2015, it reached 1,542 (according to the count made by a reputable cultural magazine). In 2016, as far as I can estimate, the number of shows exceeded 1,700.<\/p>\n

Various questions arise from this period of theatrical productivity. Do we need so many productions? To whom are they addressed? What are the conditions of production in contemporary Greek theatre?<\/p>\n

Along with two state houses (Athens\u2019 National Theatre and Thessaloniki\u2019s National Theatre of Northern Greece) there are sixteen municipal regional theatres; although most of them have failed to function properly. Almost all private theatrical activity occurs in the capital. Thessaloniki has about twenty venues, mainly hosting Athenian productions (with a few exceptions), while activity in the rest of the country is limited. Major private institutions, such as the Onassis Cultural Centre and the recently launched Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (where the National Opera will be based from now on), have an influential role in the artistic life of the country. Yet, the weight of most of these productions is shouldered, mainly, by independent producers as well as numerous theatre groups and artists who are struggling for survival.<\/p>\n

Private sponsorship in Greece is still in its infancy; there are insufficient rewards, so theatre is not considered an attractive investment. Since 2012, state grants for the theatre sector have been put on hold, and there has been no form of assistance or meaningful cultural policy for independent companies and theatres. However, there has been one notable change to this rule, which was the result of the country\u2019s economic station and not of a general state policy. As recently as July 2017, Lydia Koniordou, the Minister of Culture, who is also an important director and actress\u2014she recently made a guest appearance in Robert Wilson\u2019s Luther Dancing with the Gods<\/em> in Berlin (as part of the celebration of the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther posting The Ninety-five<\/em> Theses<\/em>),\u2014 gave grants to independent theatre groups, thus providing an absolutely necessary impetus to the creators.<\/p>\n

The financial situation of the country and the lack of money in the culture sector has had a negative impact upon both production standards and professional conditions for everyone working in the arts. To take one example, rather than receiving a contract and a monthly salary, artists are now paid a percentage of box office income. Ticket prices have been reduced; an average ticket costs ten to fifteen Euros. Whilst theatres still attract audiences, the Greek theatre community lacks a proper audience development programme. In the absence of stable, loyal audiences, most theatre producers are engaged in a constant search for an audience for their next show.<\/p>\n

In Athens, one can find every theatre trend. Classics take the lead, although directors take very different approaches to the texts, ranging from conservative, or “classic,” stagings, to modern \u201creadings,\u201d with a deconstructionist tendency, and productions which are liberally inspired by the plays. Experimental theatre, performance\/live art and the theatre of objects are gaining increasing space within the Athenian theatre. Musicals have invaded the Greek stage over the last fifteen years and have managed to form their own audience. Mamma Mia, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret<\/em> and The Sound of Music <\/em>were among the popular shows of last year. Jukebox musicals, dedicated to famous Greek singers and composers, are also in demand. As audiences seek an escape from the hard realities of life in Greece today, it is, perhaps, unsurprising that stage comedies are also proving popular.<\/p>\n

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From the production of Albee’s Play Three Tall Women<\/em>, directed by Aris Troupakis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite such trends, however, there is a still a vast audience seeking good “bourgeois” theatre with great texts (classic or modern), well-structured direction, impressive visual expression and poetic speech. It is worth mentioning four productions in particular: Edward Albee\u2019s Three Tall Women<\/em>, directed by Aris Troupakis, at the Odou Keffalinias Theatre; the staging of A Streetcar Named Desire<\/em>, directed by Elena Scoti, at the Sychrono Theatre; The Reunification of the Two Koreas <\/em>by Jo\u00ebl Pommerat, directed by one of Greece’s most important theatre directors, Nikos Mastorakis, at the Art Theatre Karolos Koun; and Heldenplatz <\/em>by Thomas Bernhardt, given its first production in Greece by the talented, young director Dimitris Karantzas, at the Odou Kykladon Theatre.<\/p>\n

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From The Great Chimera<\/em>, an adaptation of M. Karagatsis\u2019 novel, directed by Dimitris Tarlow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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From Niki<\/em>, adapted from Christos Chomenides\u2019 novel and directed by Stamatis Fasoulis. Photo by Kavallierakis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In recent years, the staging of adaptations of important classical literary masterpieces has become a routine phenomenon, indicating the need of the people to tell or hear\/see a story. Adaptations on stage have included works by Dostoyevsky and Kafka, as well as texts from the Greek classical canon; for example, a production based upon Homer\u2019s Iliad<\/em> by director Stathis Livathinos has toured in main festivals around the world. Notable stage works based upon Thucydides\u2019 History of the Peloponnesian War<\/em>, or upon versions of Vintsentzos Kornaros’s masterpiece, Erotokritos, <\/em>to Alexandros Papadiamantis and Nikos Kazantzakis, made their presence strongly felt. One of the hits of recent Greek theatre is The Great Chimera<\/em>, an adaptation of M. Karagatsis\u2019 novel, created by his grandson, director Dimitris Tarlow, which premiered at the Athens Festival and ran at Poreia Theatre for three seasons. Niki<\/em>, the bestselling novel by Christos Chomenides, adapted and nicely directed by Stamatis Fasoulis at Theatron in Athens, has also enjoyed considerable success.<\/p>\n