“Theseus – King of Athens” – Performance for children by the contemporary experimental shadow theatre, ParaMana Puppet Theatre

The performance “Theseus – King of Athens” was created for the young fans of the ParaMana Puppet Theatre and tells the tale of the amazing feats of Theseus, one of the most important heroes in Greek mythology.

The first part tells of the great adventures of young Theseus who managed to save Athens from the terrible thieves who had infested the surrounding areas, whilst the second part describes his self-sacrificing mission from Athens to Crete where he will face the Minotaur, his only aid being the clew given him by his beloved Ariadne. The colourful tales of the hero are the perfect foundation for a wonderful story.  Breaking the classic codes, we wanted to lend a particular narrative character to our story and so we used the method of those of old and that of children.

Using the original techniques of the ParaMana Puppet Theatre and the Contemporary Shadow Theatre, we take advantage of the actual classroom itself or the theatre hall, using it as giant screens. The shadows, sometimes huge and other times smaller, move above the heads of the audience, sometimes next to them and then once again in front of them, in this way constantly maintaining the interest of the children. The performance directly refers to the depictions of ancient Greek pottery and to the friezes found in ancient temples where the adventures of Theseus were depicted for the first time and which are now designed and recreated using modern materials such as vinyl.

At the end of the performance the children are taken on a tour ‘behind the scenes’ where we reveal the secrets of our craft and also talk of Ancient Athens, opening out a large map to examine all the places through which Theseus once passed, pointing out the name of each place and the importance it held during those times whilst stressing their timeless value, even today.

Cast-Crew
Concept-Direction: Anastasia Parava, Stathis Tsemperlidis
Figure animation-live narration: Anastasia Parava
Musical composition, Sound design: George Katsanos
Construction, Figures, Design: Stathis Tsemperlidis
Text: Alexandros Mistriotis
Photographs: Vaggelis Paravas
Printed material design, Video: ThinkinFresh 
Production: ParaManna Puppet Theatre

^{InformationContact Information: Daily from 09:30 until 14:00 on the following numbers: 210.9216996 or 210.7563950 and 697 3364350 all day
Duration: 50 minutes
Ticket Price: 7,00€}