We don’t know who he is. The famous bandit Yagoulas? Davelis? One of the terrible Retzou brothers? Thomas Gantaras? The thief with the gladioli? Paleokostas the Uncatchable? A persona which encompasses all of the above and much more or nothing at all, or a lunatic raving about a life which he imagined went something like that?

 

In a place undefined in terms of time, the thief in the performance is not only an unlawful person – according to current social norms –, but also a contradictory polysemous human being with a peasanty staccato way of speaking, with passions and jealousy, hatred and love. A fiery character who tells his own story, his own version of History, an adversary of public order on whose head a bounty was issued because he dared to define his own set of rules.

 

In a delirious flash back the images of a life on the edge, in the wild and in the mountains, play out before us via the narration of this social thief. And somewhere amidst the fighting and the entrapments, the a capella chanting of brigandish songs, the tussles and the negotiations, the image of ladylove prevails. The woman he loved, who gave him courage by her very existence, though he never managed to tell her so. Until his final atonement.  

 

Text: Dimitris N. Maniatis

Instruction: Stamatis Kraounakis

Costumes – Projections: Vasilis Papatsarouchas

Assistant Director / Production coordinator: Mary Kaldara

Lighting technician: Nikos Syrigos

Makeup: Giannis Pamoukis

Photos: Giannis Priftis

Promotion+Communications: Despina Kraounaki

Performing: Paschalis Tsarouchas

 

An excerpt from Dimitris Paprigopoulos’ “Skepseis enos Listou”

Setting to music by Stamatis Kraounakis

Many thanks to Mr. George Ziakas for his valuable assistance.

Many thanks also to the atelier of Ms Panagiota Tzompanaki.