Focus CROSSING BORDERS
International Competition. 11 new plays
GREECE
Christophoros Christophis
Voices of the Diaspora
Tuesday 27 September 2022 at 21:00
Theatre Aliki, Pedion Areos Park
Excerpt
Father died in exile
We came here from Tashkent
We were given a plot of land…
We were happy, until one day we found out there was a railway
Passing through the plot.
In the summers when there were no trains passing, mother and I would place
A round table on the tracks
We sat there and daydreamed
Later, our house was built on both sides of the tracks
And so the train passed through our house…
Everything is a matter of habit… don’t you think?
Summary
The play is concerned with the modern Greek diaspora, from the end of the 19th century until today. On stage, voices from every part of this multifaceted world speak to us, exist in dialogue. These are voices and accounts connected through the Greek tongue, the realization of human destiny, and the ways in which people carry on despite adversity. The diaspora serves here as a treasury of the subconscious, a people’s shared history and mythology that is renewed for each generation. Throughout the play, we experience monologues that express regret; we hear about unique experiences, different opinions and perspectives on life – and how it should be lived. Memories turn into dramatized poetry. A sense of isolation weaves together with the uncertainties and hardships of human existence as the wounded body of the Diaspora is empathetically and sensitively brought to life for us.
CV
Christophoros Christophis was born in a family of the Greek Diaspora. He grew up in Athens and studied in Paris – where he spent a big part of his youth – as well as in New York and Italy. He met key figures of the art world, including Lila De Nobili, to whom he apprenticed. He became widely known at a young age, after his films Wandering and Rosa won several awards in international festivals and received enthusiastic reviews by Greek and international critics. He has directed innovative musical works and world premieres of contemporary operas, such as the ones by Antonio Cericola and Marian Kouzan in Italy and France, and Yannis Drositis and Nikos Xanthoulis in Greece. He has collaborated with Eleni Karaindrou, who composed the music for his films, as well as with Pericles Koukos for the scenic cantata Diary for Passers-by, sung by Maria Farantouri. He has worked for Greece’s national broadcaster (ERT-1) directing for them Lost Spring (adapted from the work of Stratis Tsirkas), and The Silence of the Angels (adapted from the work of Vizyinos). Christophis has written novels, librettos, and theatrical plays. He has also adapted drama pieces and classic works of literature, as well as translated The Shield by Menander. In 2000, Mayfly was performed by an English cast at London’s Old Vic theatre. The music for this play was composed in 1994 by Giorgos Koumentakis. Several plays have been produced since: The old lady of Trabzon, The Orators, Toulouse Lautrec: The Fantasy of Sin, and Nizinski: The Prophecy of Fire. His play, Euripides Furens received its premiere at Delphi, during the 2021 edition of ‘Days of Delphic Cultural Heritage’. Call to Prometheus premiered at Megaron, the Athens concert hall, in 2021. In 2022, The Association of Theatre Critics bestowed on him the ‘Karolos Koun’ Dramaturgy Award for his lifetime’s achievement.
Cast
Text-Dramaturgy: Christophoros Christophis
Assistant director: Dimitris Kakavoulas
Music: Nikos Xanthoulis
Performers: Veronika Argentzi, Dimitris Kakavoulas, John Laspias, Dimitris Mavros, Nadia Mourouzi
Voice: Thalis Dimitropoulos