The 2nd Contemporary Theatre Festival, “French Theatre à la Grecque” is here! The French Institute of Athens and the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation continue, for a second year running, in the organization of the event which was so warmly embraced by the theatre-loving public, this year presenting six new theatrical productions (one more than last year), using six contemporary French works, which have been especially translated into Greek and handed over to six talented Greek Directors of the younger generation, for their first presentation in this country.

 

Once again, contemporary French dramaturgy impresses with its richness, its controversial stance and its boldness.  In the specially adapted underground area of the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, from the 14th to the 31st of May 2015, artists of Greek theatre come face to face with works which are surprising and revealing and which talk of the void in love and the fantasy of escapism, the crisis-both social and economic -, domestic violence, homophobic discrimination, colonialism, power that is steeped in blood, and the values of theatre. Plays involving characters around the age of adolescence, who are always seeking an elsewhere paradise, or those who are older who, in either the half-light or the harsh light of the set, divulge inner secrets, guilt and dark pages of the story, in harsh dialogues heavy with humour, irony and cynicism.

With and without autobiographical hints, but most certainly with a multifaceted storyboard, the six works start up a dialogue between the past and the present; with the moral values and the torn public conscience, at the same time shedding light upon phenomena which constitute and very often define human temperament, as well as the people of today.

 

Six very different French writers: Carine Lacroix, with the work Burn baby burn, Simon Grangeat with T.I.N.A., Olivier Py with the work Théâtres, Pascal Rambert with Clôture de l’Amour, Enzo Cormann with Toujours l’orage and Jean-Luc Lagarce with Juste la fin du monde, and six very different Greek directors: Vasia Attarian, Alexander Evkleidi, Louisa Costoula, K.Alexis Alatsis, Constantinos Hadjis and Enke Fezollari.

 

Translation: Translation workshop of the French institute with the participation of:  Simoni Athanasiou, Panagiotis Dry, Vicky Campouri and George Saramaskou.  Direction and supervision of the translation:  Dimitra Kondylaki

Direction: Vasia Attarian

 

Translation: Effie Giannopoulou

Direction: Alexander Evkleidi

 

Translation: Maria Efstathiadi

Direction: Constantinos Hadjis 

 

Translation: Nicolitsa Aggelakopoulou

Direction: K. Alexis Alatsis

 

Translation: Maria Efstathiadi

Direction: Constantinos Hadjis

 

Translation: Andreas Staikos

Direction: Enke Fezollari

 

Video: Michalis Roumpis (Direction), Andonis Kounellas (Director of photography), Aggelos Ballas (Editing)

 

A coproduction: The French Institute of Athens & The Michael Cacoyannis Foundation

In cooperation with: SACD & COPIE PRIVÉE