An allegorical and poetic description of the ideal state, modelled after the world of bees. Bees, that during antiquity were associated with the divine element (nowadays an endangered species), are described by Virgil as a fully developed society, with its own kingdoms, cities, work distribution system and work ethics. They are concerned with the continuation of their species in a unique way that exceeds the instinct of their individual survival. Through the fourth book of Georgics we follow the society of bees at times from the inside and at times from the beekeeper’s angle. Reading Virgil’s text one cannot but ponder on the self-centered course of the human civilization and man’s arrogant and destructive estrangement from nature. Α “musical reading” of this great poetic text. At its roots, music weaves a hymn to nature, which brings out man’s always topical and life-giving love for it.
The text of the performance is based on Konstantinos Theotokis’ translation of Virgil’s Georgics (Βεργίλιος, Τα Γεωργικά, Dromon publishing, Athens 1909).
A woman decides to leave her abusive husband and migrate to the north, so as to reunite with her two braver friends. On her journey she is accompanied by her personal artificial intelligence assistant and the thought of the whale, whose long evolutionary path of fifty million years inspires the heroine to put herself together and continue on her way. The music also serves as her guide.
The production The Whale’s Song presents a world plagued by a distorted political system, social injustice and the effects of climate crisis. “We are fighting to reach a destination where the conditions will favour our survival. And if we do not reach it, then the next or one of the coming generations will.” The groundbreaking works of awarded writer Chantal Bilodeau revolve around climate crisis.
A quadrophonic sound installation that will be presented for the first time in Greece. A collaboration between visual artists Giorgos Moraitis and Latent Community that is actually a sound research on the Mediterranean aquatic eco-systems and the way they are harmed by human intervention. The goal of the work is to magnify the non-perceivable sound imprints that disturb the climatic and ecological balance in Greece and the Mediterranean. The archaeological site of the Dark Dungeon in the imposing Castle of Chios is turned into an immersive environment, where sound and image invite us to recompose a sustainable future, through the fragments of a collapsing era.
The installation will be accompanied by experiential workshops for children and teenagers (26-28/7) aimed at raising awareness on issues of ecology and environmental protection.
The Aquatic Echoes research has been conducted with the support of Onassis AiR.
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.
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.
Photography exhibition / Audio walk / Theatre performance
Cross-disciplinary piece, based on Stratis Vogiatzis’ book of the same title
There is a life that silently unfolds underneath the ground; a life that has reconciled with the chaos and the co-existence of the diverse elements that compose the world. This life unfolds in a place that knows – without however being able to prove it – that the Individual is actually the Collective, that the Other complements the One, that the Imaginary is the Real waiting to be confirmed, and that the Real, in return, is the Imaginary experienced through the senses. What is this land, this open space, in which, when heterogeneous elements come together, the possibility of a world hitherto “patiently waiting for the right conditions to emerge” is fertilized? What is this land that can withstand to serve as both a background for a picture that will be revealed, and as the picture itself? What is this Camp?
Stratis Vogiatzis’s photography exhibition is made possible with the support of MOMus and Chios Music Festival.
Two leading pieces from the literary heritage. Two iconic female characters from Greek literature, Georgios Chortatzis’ Erophile and Kostis Palamas’ Trisevegni, come together on stage.
Trisevgeni is “a person who doesn’t reflect and can’t be subdued, a person of her own mind, and a daredevil”. She doesn’t fit in with the suffocating social environment around her. She is a creature stubbornly defending her own nature – which means, a tragic heroine. Erophile watches her as she tells her story and tenderly accompanies her. She comments, interprets, and feels for her. She is the fairy of the cistern, her dead mother. Until her singing becomes one and the same as Trisevgeni’s, as she says: “My own song always, which is sung by my whole life. To my own tune”. A story tightly interwoven with a singing tune.
The creative company APARÄMILLON, consistently working on research-based original dramaturgies, now shifts its attention to the dramaturgy of Iakovos Kampanellis for the first time. In particular, it explores the legendary play The Courtyard of Miracles, offering a participatory performance that focuses on the conflict of interests surrounding overtourism in the Greek islands.
More specifically, the heroes and themes Kampanellis uses blend with real accounts and elements gathered through on-the-spot research, creating a symbolic way of addressing the impacts of unbridled touristic development. This is achieved by contrasting the different economic interests of individuals or groups involved, and by illuminating the ethical and deontological dilemmas that stem from them.
Stage indicators from Kampanellis’ The Courtyard of Miracles invite the creative team and the audience, whether they are local residents or visitors, to participate in a kaleidoscope of human characters and intricate relationships.