Irvin Yalom's "Love's Executioner" with Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Minas Chadjisavvas - Directed by Kostas Gakis

Extra Performances:

March 2013

Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:00
(apart from Tuesday 5/3 and Tuesday 12/3)
&
Thursday 28th of February 2013
at 21:00

Love’s Executioner
by Irvin Yalom

Directed by Kostas Gakis

with
Xenia Kalogeropoulou, Minas Chadjisavvas

According to both the great turnout and audience’s love that were shown for the first theatrical encounter of Xenia Kalogeropoulou and Minas Chadjisavvas, the performances of Irvin Yalom’s “Love’s Executioner” are extended till the end of March, always under the direction of Kostas Gakis. Seventy years old Thelma (Xenia Kalogeropoulou), a veteran dancer, she is obsessively in love with her younger psychotherapist Mathew. Thelma and Mathew had a brief love affair in the past. The twenty-seven days of their relationship has been stuck on Thelma’s mind and they make her unable to continue her life. Her new psychotherapist (Minas Chadjisavvas), Irvin, is going to attempt an eradication of this obsession by any curative mean.

The performance is a combination of theatre and dancing theatre. A ballerina (Elena Gerodemou) represents Thelma’s soul with choreography and the actor-dancer Christos Papadopoulos (Mathiew) interacts with Thelma’s soul. In addition, the protagonists are inside a kinetic adventure. Ageing, love and harsh communication are approached with delicate humor and rapid rhythms, in order to pose great questions about life without pomposity.

The book is published by Agra Editions.

Director’s Note
“Love’s Executioner” touches me with its story. A seventy-year-old woman, Thelma, during her late 8 years is obsessed with her ex-psychotherapist Mathew. With the aid of her new psychotherapist, Irvin, they will
attempt to eradicate her obsession and a human relation based on affection is born. Thelma was a ballerina, and as it is sited in the book, she was really happy only two times in her life: when she was dancing and during the 27 days of her affair with Mathew.

The magical thing with Yalom’s books is the depiction of a really humane psychotherapist that tries to offer his help motivated by altruism and human contact. This specific text by Yalom has to tell us many things about love obsession, ageing, lack of communication and our superficial certainties.

In addition, it is my first time in directing at the dramatic and existential aspect of the theatre. My aim is to break the prejudice that an existential play has to be comminuted by pauses and pomposity. In contrast, I hope that “Love’s Executioner” will be a tight-organised performance with sharp and unpredictable editing learned by my pursuit with comedies.”

Kostas Gakis