“Somewhere between East and West, a heroic Greek woman and a brave Arab man defy the hatred and the racial differences which separate them. They fall in love and have a son, Digenes. This dual nationality gives the hero twice the power and twice the strength to battle with injustice on whatever side it may appear, either within or beyond the borders. The life and battle of Digenes become a bridge and a symbol which unites people and cultures”, says the Narrator. The text was created within the framework of the collaboration between Magda Kossida, CLIO and Fahrenheit 451 and was first presented in French at the Avignon Festival (2007). Immediately afterwards the performance was arranged in Greek and is now presented in two languages just as the origin of the hero was dual.

Short biographical note for Magda Kossida

Magda Kossida is a Storyteller/Narrator. She has been living and working in France for the past 30 years. She studied pedagogy at the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens and History at Strasbourg University whilst practicing the application of fairytales in psychopedagogy. She has worked as a teacher at the Strasbourg School of Nursery teachers. She became involved in the art of Narration for pre-school ages and organized Creative Workshops on the Art of Narrative at junior schools, middle and high schools. She has been collaborating with the French Centre for Oral Literature (CLIO) since 2005. She is a member of the Fahrenheit 451 group where she studied epic poetry under the supervision of Bruno De La Salle, a pioneer in the revival of Narrative Art on a European level and founder of CLIO (the French Centre for Oral Literature). She has run workshops for children with special needs, in homes for the elderly, in prisons and addiction centres. Her life work was the adaptation of the myth of Hercules which was met with great success in France and Belgium. Her performances have been staged in theatres in Paris and schools across France, with the main goal of promoting and recognizing the wonders of the Greek language. She has also taken part in all the famous Storytelling Festivals in France.

Every Saturday at 19:00, Magda Kossida presents “Digenes Akritas”, a narrative rhapsody based on Acritic demotic poetry and the homonymous medieval epic.