Meeting “Vassilis Ziogas’ Theatre”

The Department of Theatre Studies of University of Athens in cooperation with Michael Cacoyannis Foundation organise on Wednesday 22nd of May 2013, a meeting under the title “Vassilis Ziogas” Theatre’. Under the supervision of Grigoris Ioannidis, Assistant Professor at the Department of Theatre Studies in University of Athens.

Scientific researchers and critics such as Kostas Georgousopoulos, Walter Puchner, Chara Bakonikola, Platon Mauromoustakos, Leandros Polenakis will meet, in order to discover the aspects of Ziogas’ work. There will be also an open discussion between artists that have directed Ziogas’ work and a meeting of actresses that have played his roles as well (Woman’s Color). After every single thematic circle, there will be an open discussion with the audience.

The meeting will be accomplished by the Eleni Zioga’s performance “Miss Helen’s Secret”. The performance traces the gradual transformation of Ziogas’ way of writing through the women of his life.

Almost fifty years after Vassilis Ziogas’ first appearance in Greek theatre and almost ten years since his sudden death, Greek Theatre seems to have absorbed his artistic gaze. The most important parts of his work have inspired many artistic performances and many of his plays are at the epicenter of performances by theatrical groups of young artists.

In parallel, many theatrical theorists have recognized Ziogas’ influence on Modern Greek theatrical style of writing. There is also a large catalogue of books that have dealt with his unique dramaturgy (studies concerning nature, love, race and death in Ziogas’ work). Opinions expressed by critics and master thesis are completing the overview of his oeuvre.

Hence, according to the information mentioned above, Vassilis Ziogas’ influence on Contemporary Greek Theatre has been undoubtedly decisive.

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Vassilis Ziogas is one of the most important Greek playwriters of contemporary Greece. He was born in Thessaloniki (1935) and later on, he moved in Athens. He graduated from the American College of Psychiko and when he was 14 years old, he wrote and directed his first play “Grapes telling Lies”.

In 1956, he moved to Austria, where he studied cinema and theatre at the University of Vienna and he was influenced by Lettrism and its fathers (Hernest Jandl, H.C. Artman and Peter Hantke).

His first book was published in 1957 (21 studies for a single lyric line) and after that he was concentrated on theatre. During the fifties, he travelled a lot and he lived for a short period in Paris. He translated plays by Ionesco and Becket for National Greek Radio.

In 1972, he went to New York (with the funding of Ford Foundation) and he joined La Mama Theatrical Group. Since 1979, he worked as a journalist in newspapers. Many of his plays have been presented in German speaking Europe.

He was the “Heretic Persona” of Modern Greek Theatre and he has been characterized as “the most poetic author of Modern Greek Dramaturgy”. His style combines the poetic approach with cynicism and black humor and it has been influenced by surrealism, psychoanalysis, ancient Greek tragedies and Greek tradition.

He died in 2001, by the age of 66 years old. His two daughters, Helen (lyricist, scriptwriter and actress) and Martha (dancer and singer) are his successors.