Beckett 3B: Text, movement and image
Amid the multitude of theatrical premieres taking place these days, the directorial debut of choreographer Ersi Pitta comes as a nice surprise. Her efforts can be seen on stage in a limited series of performances at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in the capital?s Tavros district tonight and then again on February 4, 5 and 6.
Titled ?Beckett 3B,? the play was developed following months of hard work and is based on Samuel Beckett?s so-called ?Texts for Nothing.?
Pitta has always enjoyed a special relationship with theater. ?I would say that directing is a natural development for me, as opposed to being a new direction,? she told Kathimerini. Known for having incorporated narrative in various dance theater performances in the past, Pitta also teaches at the Research and Practical Applications Center of Ancient Greek Drama, the Veakis Drama School and the Greek National Theater.
?While I have always been interested in physical theater, I have also been acting since a very young age. When I was 10 years old, Michael Cacoyannis picked me to interpret the young Electra.?
So where does the novelty lie in ?Beckett 3B??
?The performance is based on ?Texts for Nothing,? which Beckett started in 1950 at a time when he was being psychoanalyzed by the eminent Wilfred Bion. The cast and I worked really hard deconstructing and dramatizing the texts,? added Pitta, who described the play as being dominated by text, movement and image.
The first image to greet the audience is that of a big cylinder — one which, according to the director, could take in the whole of mankind. Inside the cylinder, the actors twist and fall down, before getting up and doing it all over again. Identifying with the writer, the cast ask an array of questions: ?Where would I go if I could? What would I be if I could? What would I say if I had a voice??
