The youth-oriented novel When the Statues Went Away by Angeliki Darlasi, adapted for the stage by the author herself and directed by Christos Christopoulos, has been turned into a special performance designed for children aged 6 to 11 years.
Once there was a girl who had heard statues singing. She had danced with them in the moonlight. She had seen them shedding tears. Because statues come alive at night. Angelina was well aware of that, as she grew up in a museum. Tiko and the statues were her best friends. When Mussolini declared war against Greece, the fear that the darkness of Nazism would prevail grew even stronger. And all those involved in the museum, from archaeologists to plain workers, all of them shared a common anxiety. They all protected the same secret, which seemed to be summarized in just one phrase: “We must make haste…”. Angelina will want to learn that secret and help her friend, Tiko, hide his own.
The Revolution of the Old Toys is a free theatrical adaptation of Christos Boulotis’ fairy tale of the same title, directed by Sofia Palantza.
On a rainy night, the old toys decide to start a revolution. Armed with courage and enthusiasm, they will live out the adventure and the danger, deciding to confront the electronic games that were stealing the children’s thoughts. They will also clash with their own leader, once they discover that he is not a toy but a human being. Using imagination as their only weapon, the toys will engage in an uneven battle against the electronic fighters of war and violence, to claim their place in the children’s hearts.
Group spirit, camaraderie, solidarity, peace, and combative spirit, freedom, and most of all imagination as a manifestation of creativity, are just some of the concepts this performance explores. The Revolution of the Old Toys will offer audiences moments of joy, taking them on a journey through colourful clouds alongside clockwork-marching toy soldiers, cymbal-banging toy monkeys, little drummers, unicorns, and multicoloured balls.
The new theatre performance One thousand reasons to argue by the Tik Tak Do theatre company invites us to embark on an imaginary journey of exploring and recognizing emotions.
Markos, a young man, is constantly angry, finding a thousand reasons to get into fights. He faces everything happening around him with anger. He always keeps a shield and a wooden sword close to him. When he loses these objects, he will be forced to order new ones… “Mr Markos, Sword & Shield company thanks you very much for your order. With this letter we announce that starting this year, there have been changes in the process of delivering swords and shields. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience. In the map enclosed in the box, you will find four marked points corresponding to four castles. These castles need to provide their seal for your order to be dispatched. Please, do not overlook any of the instructions. Best regards, Sword & Shield AMC (Anonymous Monopoly Company)”.
Following their debut in Mytilene with the performance Aegean Sea at the Sanctuary of Messon in 2021, the Patari Project theatre company returns with their new production Rob & Crus. It is a fascinating performance for the whole family, based on an adaptation of the work Robinson & Crusoe by Nino D’Introna and Giacomo Ravicchio.
While everything around them has been swept away by an unprecedented flood, two men find refuge on the roof of a house. As “castaways” they are obliged to live together for a period of time, yet the existence of the “other” seems hostile. As they do not speak the same tongue, they try to communicate using signs and body language. This creates intense and explosive situations, which are often hilarious. Alone in the world and not having anyone else to turn to, these two “enemies” will approach each other little by little, and will find a way to co-exist. And then a plot twist occurs… And after that what? A humorous work suitable for both children and grown-ups, unique and touching.
War is the ultimate form of conflict between adversaries. The event The Art of War, written and directedby Konstantinοs Thanοs and Alkmini Kalogirou, is a representation of a war battle in the style of a board game, especially designed for children and teenagers.
Through the use of miniature soldiers, combat weapons, and strategic techniques for achieving victory from Sun Tzu’s book of the same title, children will be made aware of the impacts of war and the emotions of those involved – victims, aggressors, and bystanders. In a time when games play such an important role in children’s everyday lives, this analogy-based representation uses game-playing as a tool for a multifaceted and experiential approach to war and conflict.
The production Lucky Luke Is Afraid, written and directed by Taxiarchis Deligiannis and Vasilis Tsiouvaras, uses the form of musical to enhance the hero’s inner struggle with color and poetic immediacy.
The storyline is as follows: Andreas (19 years old) and Antigone (17 years old) are in an online relationship using the nicknames Lucky and Betty, without ever exchanging their real names or photographs. Andreas is experiencing a strong internal conflict between his true, sensitive self, whom he only presents online, and his image of a restless, tough boy, which he only shows to the outside world. His love for Antigone gradually frees him from his fears and gambling addiction, enabling him to reveal his true self. Like Alcestis in the ancient myth, Andreas “returns” to the outside world, leaving the virtual world to which he had surrendered himself until then, behind.
In the special event for children The Journey of a Note, a contemporary composer clashes with visual artists who take a surrealistic approach in the land of colours. Starting from the compositions of Stavros Lantsias, every child will go on a journey through the notes, in any direction their experiences and emotions will lead them to, without any obstacles or filters. Aiming to emphasize freedom of expression, this two-hour experiential workshop invites children to decode music and create paintings inspired by their feelings. In a reverse approach, they will translate famous paintings by Joan Miró, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Edvard Munch into soundscapes. Every attempt to translate a work of art into an emotion is a multifaceted internal conflict. And perhaps this is what holds the most magic in art.
Programme of events (13 & 14 July 2024)
- Educational programme for children aged 7 and above. Maximum number of participants: 10 persons. The programme will run from 10.00 to 12.00.
- Educational programme for children aged 7 and above. Maximum number of participants: 10 persons. The programme will run from 15.00 to 17.00.
- Visual art exhibition showcasing works crafted by the participants of the workshop. Operating hours for the exhibition: 19.30-22.00
- Concert with Stavros Lantsias. Starts at: 21.00.
The educational programmes are suitable for persons aged 7 and over.
For seat reservations in the educational programs, please contact the Konaki Prodromou Karditsa.
Contact phone: 24410 62078 (Monday – Friday 09.00-13.00).
Poreia Theatre participates in the Ministry of Culture’s programme “All of Greece, One Culture” for the first time with the performance A Few Pieces of Stone. In this partially walking performance, young people of Greek-British descent from Thrace will visit the homeland of their parents and grandparents and will be guided through the archaeological site of the Ancient Zone.
During the tour, they will raise various questions about the everyday life in the Ancient Zone, its peak and decline, the excavation history of Thrace, the significance of ancient monuments, etc. The discussion goes beyond learning about our homeland, touching on themes such as the seizure and destruction of cultural treasures – like the Parthenon marbles –, cultural identity, identity narratives and the crises that stem from them, the role of local cultural heritage, its connection to all of humanity, and more. At the end of the tour, everyone will challenge themselves with the crucial questions: “What is a monument beyond just a few pieces of stone?”, “Why is it important to me personally?”, “Why should I care?”.
Educational workshop
During the making of the performance, students from local schools, young individuals, will participate in a workshop led by the director Sofia Vgenopoulou. The workshop will take place in the Archaeological Museum of Alexandroupolis. It has been designed to show how History and cultural identity are reflected in the eyes of the local youth, gather material for the final shaping of the event, and encourage the active involvement of a group of students in the performance.
Beats per Minute Cultural Group presents the walking dance theatre performance Final Class: Gymnastics. It is a piece that blends elements of documentary theatre and devised theatre, aimed at teenagers and young individuals. The creative team invites audiences to ponder why the gymnastics teacher’s phrase “Boys grab some balls to play football, and girls – some balls to play ‘apples’ (a type of children’s game)” seems so familiar to them. T
he gymnastics class at a typical general high school is turned into a battlefield centered on gender discrimination and stereotypes regarding sexual orientation. The class breaks apart when the students start investigating and questioning gender discriminations and the ways in which they are reproduced during the class. This process triggers an anxious internal conflict in all individuals involved – a conflict stemming from exploring the concepts of femininity and masculinity, challenging gender discrimination, and expanding the importance of gender identities.