Jenny Karezi Theatre
July 22-23, 1996
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
“The play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King”
Hamlet.
The question posed to the theatre maker who attempts to bring to life a theatrical work from the past in front of a contemporary audience is: Why do certain works, deeply rooted in their time, continue to evoke emotions and ideas that enlighten us about our own era […]
Since the beginning of the 20th century, modern societies have been transforming rapidly. They cannot control the direction in which they are headed. The dangers posed by the incomprehensible forces of technology and expertise are immeasurable. Elizabethan societies suffered greatly from the transition from the traditional world to the new one. We are able to decrypt Shakespeare (as well as the ancient tragedians) in our century because he himself decrypted the changes of his time through the adventures of his heroes. Thus, one could say that individualisation in the face of the dramatic hero, is a means offered by aesthetics to social life to help it overcome the crisis of change, by becoming aware of it. The individualised hero is a projection of collective consciousness.
“The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King” says Hamlet. It is enough for him to perform the scene of his father’s death in front of the king to reveal, through the guise of theatrical form, the truth of what actually happened.
Leonidas Trivizas, Shakespeare Today. From the performance programme.
Directed by: Leonidas Trivizas
Translated by: Errikos Belies
Costume Design: Nikos Petropoulos
Music: Andreas Symvoulopoulos, Nikos Touliatos
Lighting Design: Thanasis Stavropoulos
Assistant Director: Barbara Douka
The performances presented on July 22 and 23 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus featured live music performed by the band Echodrasi:
Nikos Touliatos: Percussion
Andreas Symvoulopoulos: Keyboards
Stavros Emmanuel: Electric Bass — Percussion
Pantelis Paschalidis: Trumpet — Percussion
Themis Symvoulopoulos: Percussion
Athena Kapsetaki: Percussion
Sotiris Karamessinis: Percussion
Kyriaki Tsakiridou: Percussion
Spyros Karamitsos: Percussion
Thanasis Armyriotis: Percussion
Vicky Houzouri: Percussion
During the tour, live music was performed by Sotiris Karamessinis & Nikos Touliatos.
Cast
King Lear: Kostas Kazakos
King of France: Evdokimos Tsolakidis
Duke of Burgundy: Antonis Alexiou
Duke of Cornwall: Stathis Livathinos
Duke of Albany: Yannis Dalianis
Earl of Kent: Kosmas Zaharof
Earl of Gloucester: Giorgos Kentros
Edgar, Gloucester’s Son: Konstantinos Konstantopoulos
Edmund, Gloucester’s Illegitimate Son: Konstantinos Kazakos
Messenger: Antonis Alexiou
Oswald, Goneril’s Steward: Spyros Kouvardas
Fool: Petros Philippidis
Old Man, Gloucester’s Companion: Kostas Zapas
Goneril, Lear’s Daughter: Melina Botelli
Regan, Lear’s Daughter: Filareti Komninou
Cordelia, Lear’s Daughter: Lydia Fotopoulou
Knight: Antonis Alexiou
Officer I: Evdokimos Tsolakidis
Officer II: Kostas Zapas
Soldiers — Knights — Followers:
Vassilis Andreou, Panagiotis Bougiouris, Giorgos Dambasis, Stathis Grapsas, Michalis Iatropoulos, Giorgos Iliopoulos, Tassos Kazakos, Chrysostomos Makavelos, Dimitris Mylonas, Nikos Nakos, Vassilis Poulakos, Panagiotis Soukoulis, Vangelis Stolidis, Christos Strepkos, Pavlos Vissariou