Region: Crete

By fire ..

The common elements that will compose the core of the project is the relationship between disability and asylum, through their current dimensions, regarding the oppression experienced by refugees, the freedom of action given to them by societies, and their integration into the social web.

Taking into account social, economic, class, ethnic, psychological parameters and influences, we explore the spectrum and processes of integration and acceptance of these populations, through authentic narratives, and their role in the evolution of culture.

A redefinition of art, of the “different other”, of the refugee, of the disabled, of life itself, of the self, of emotions, of the relationship with one’s own body, mind and soul.

Ocean

A performance that attempts to bring out the abrupt and violent process that turned Asia Minor refugees into infectious agents and a danger for the society. Asia Minor refugees were exiled, abandoned, or they died in quarantine hospitals that were set up in various regions of Greece.

The performance treats this historical phenomenon in a multifaceted way using contemporary scientific approaches: it explores – among other things – the power structures that cause it, its social and political considerations, and the concepts of morbidity/normality, “purge”, threshold, transition, and marginalisation as records of historical/social connotations…

The dramaturgical material is composed of real life testimonies and original fiction texts. The work is performed in an open space and at sea. It focuses on the body, its movement, the songs, sounds and voices of the actors, who blend with the audience from the beginning to create a community.

Ikesia, From Refugee to Plea.

Supplicant and the ritual of Supplication (Hiketia) were unwritten laws of divine origin and their guardian was the king of 12 gods Zeus, the divine refugee who was rescued as an infant after his mother Rhea fled to the most sacred of Cretan caves, the Idaeon Andro.

In this emblematic place, in the heart of Psiloritis, through an artistic and scientific partnership, the timeless concept of Ikesia as a refugee and Plea is approached in the context of the 100th anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe. At an altitude of 1550 meters, a symbolic thematic cycle will be attempted from Smyrna waterfront to the foothills of Xenios Zeus, which will include two thematic contributions, a theatrical excerpt from Aeschylus’ tragedy Icetides and the musical-theatrical improvisation

Refugee (part of Metartum a Cultural – Augmented Reality Project). Finally, the event concludes with a musical performance by the band of the Cretan artist Vassilis Skoulas.

XENOS

Philoxenia/Hospitality in ancient Greece was a sacred obligation and an unconditional right. Since then and until now, the phenomenon of forced mass displacement of populations is not unprecedented. However, in recent years the way we deal with this phenomenon is unprecedentedly harsh.

How things have changed over time in Greek society? What did the refugees experience on their way from Asia Minor to Greece and how did they cope? How were they received by the natives? How did the Greek government deal with them? And on the other hand, how are the refugees treated today by the Greek government and the Greek citizens?

A musical narrative theatrical performance inspired by the testimonies of refugees of then and now, in combination with ancient texts, literary texts, audio documents, physicality, poetry and live music.

Limen – A Musical Performance About the Memory of the Future

The performance aims at capturing and presenting the osmosis of cultures that forever changed the city of Heraklion, focusing on the moment of arrival and reception for some, and on the moment of separation and abandonment for others, at an emblematic part of the port, a fortress that can be both a prison and a refuge.

Refugees of then and refugees of now, descendants of refugees and locals who received them, documents, press articles, literary excerpts, poems, personal testimonies and experiences come into light to tell audiences a story that connects peoples and cultures to this date.

A fourteen-member ensemble consisting of actors, musicians, and “specialists” will attempt to revisit historical events that shaped the city of Heraklion through the stories of its citizens.

COMMON GROUND – Those Who Left, Those Who Came

“How people are alike! If we let them be free, they immediately come together and love each other.” Language. A bridge that reaches the heart of the interlocutor and creates at once a bond and a commitment… Eh, and there’s also food! Three generations. People from Asia Minor and Turks from Crete meet at a common ground, the table. They cook. They feel nostalgic.

“Nostalgia is an old thing you remember. History is an old thing you don’t remember. My parents named me Ozlem, which means “nostalgia”, for the sake of the motherland they are nostalgic for, and Pelagia for the sake of the sea that unites us…” What is a refugee? Identity? Motherland? What is common ground? Can such whispers be heard in the complexity of political decisions?

A work based on our memories and the narratives wrote down by Maria Tsirimonaki in her book Those Who Left, Those Who Came.

PARODOS

On the occasion of the centenary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Mneme theatre company revisits the atmosphere of those days through Kosmas Politis’ emblematic PARODOS, a chapter interpolated in the middle of his novel “Stou Hadjifragkou” that introduces us to the greatest tragedy ever experienced by the Greek people since the birth of the Greek State.

Its literary value is unprecedented as it manages to capture our imagination, both metaphorically – by calling our attention to the value and beauty of the place – and literally – by transporting us to the centre of the tragedy that unfolded during the last days of August 1922 on the coast of Smyrna.

The production is accompanied by the original music of composer-pianist Dimitris Droumboyannis, performed live onstage by three musicians.

Green Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

The production Green Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, written and directed by Nikos Dafnis, is based on the following concept: A famous environmentalist has arrived to give a lecture about the environment, interrupting the rehearsal of a group of actors preparing a theatre performance. The “professor” proposes to them to improvise (as artists) on the things that he himself (as a scientist) would like to talk about in his lecture. And so the show begins…

The work is about the degradation of our life from rampant industrial growth and the brutal and unpunished exploitation of the natural environment. The contamination of water resources, reckless deforestation, the invasion of chemistry into the food chain, the extinction of free space in the cities etc. are all problems that audience members of all ages can relate to. The choice of the old known directorial device of “theatre within the theatre” encourages child spectators to get involved in the show.

The Four Seasons

The production The Four Seasons presents an imaginative representation of the seasons meant to introduce children to the concepts of the alternation of natural phenomena and the way this alternation affects nature and life itself. Through humorous dialogues, singing and dancing, as well as videos, the messages will be conveyed in a lively and joyful way.

The text written especially for this production by Chloe Mantzari gives each actor the opportunity to introduce themselves and personify each season. Although one cannot offer an immediate solution to the problem of climate change, one can, however, show children the way they can be familiarized with the problem, connect to its daily progression, and find out ways to take action against it. The final goal is for them to leave the show having become more responsible and with the hope that the planet can be saved. The lyrically crafted lyrics of the songs follow the same style. Euripides Zemenidis’ original music lends a lighter touch to the show and inspires the dance parts.

About the Nature of Things

The combination of Epimenidis, a figure between legend and history, and Lucretius’ philosophical poetic work About the Nature of Things has been the inspiration for this year’s artistic meeting at the timeless cultural magnet of Ideon Andron. This year’s cultural meeting revolves around a composition of multidimensional art forms inspired by the philosophy of reapproaching Nature and man’s relationship with the environment. Using as tools different art forms and techniques or handcrafts that have been historically developed in the Cretan Culture, such as weaving, pottery and woodworking, along with visual arts, theatre and the dominant musical production, Epimenidis II treats the concept of man’s offering to the environment in which he lives, creates and evolves.

The event About the Nature of Things will be structured in three thematic units starting in the afternoon (18:30-19:00) and ending in the evening by 22:00. More specifically:

Presenter: Mirka Skoula (Cultural administrator, UCL)

• Part Α: The beginning of creation, from Nature to Use (18:00-19:30)

Open exhibition of craftworks: pottery, woodcarving and weaving

Featuring: Giorgos Dalambelas (pottery, Keramion, Margarites, Rethymnon), Manolis Xylouris, Aristea Xylouri (weaving, Traditional looms, Anogia), Stefanos Plousis (woodcarving, Anogia)

• Part B: Theatrical and Visual Design (19:35-20:00)

PandemonCracy – The Panic of the Days at Nature’s Pan-daemonium

Visual art event by artist Georgios Bounias and actor Giannis Athitakis, inspired by the Homeric hymn to god Pan. A visual art and theatre composition.

• Part C: Music event (20:10-22:00)

An original musical tribute inspired by nature and the environment in its many manifestations.

With the participation of: Kostas Fasoulas (lyricist), Giannis Kalomiris (musical creator, lute), Ioanna Kalogeraki-Kalomiri (mezzo soprano), Erini Tornesaki (musician, performer, assistant professor at Boston’s Berklee College of Music,), Ilias Zoutsos (classical violin soloist, lyrist, Doctor of Music Studies of the Faculty of

Philosophy), Bernardo Isola (musical creator, lute, Phd candidate in environmental protection issues)