Goldoni trilogy still rings true
A new production, which opened recently at the Greek National Theater?s Main Stage, has all the elements of success: enjoyable performances, glorious costumes and good pacing. And although Carlo Goldoni?s ?The Holiday Trilogy? was written back in the 18th century, the play still has much to say on the human condition today.
Giorgos Depastas?s translation into Greek, meanwhile, delivers the Italian playwright?s famous turns of phrase and dialogues with skill and grace. From the director?s chair, Nikos Mastorakis has done a respectable job with the trilogy, in which Goldoni castigates the bourgeoisie for leading a shallow existence.
Over the course of the play, audiences will surely see a multitude of similarities between past and present: 18th century folk were prone to spending well beyond their means, owing money to everyone around them, borrowing without ever paying back and falling in love time and time again.
Beyond castigating the middle class, in ?The Holiday Trilogy? Goldoni presents a romantic maypole that begins as a farce and inevitably ends in pain, defeat and the kind of solitude that only love can evoke. In the third and final part of the play, the colorful costumes and mannerisms disappear, giving way to a cast clad in black from top to bottom, mourning its lost innocence and insouciance. In the end, young and old accept their responsibilities and take their lives into their own hands.
Special credit goes to the production?s cast, which makes the play?s three-hour duration a highly enjoyable: Yiannos Perlengas, Nikos Hadjopoulos, Emily Koliandri, Nikos Psarras, Dimitris Piatas, Promitheas Aliferopoulos, Evi Saoulidou, Lena Papaligoura, Vangelio Andreadaki, Georgianna Dalara, Giorgis Tsouris and Maya Lyberopoulou. Special mention is also due to Mastorakis, who besides directing, also designed the play?s costumes and music.
National Theater, Main Stage, 22-24 Aghiou Constantinou, Omonia. For more information on performances call 210.528.8170, 210.528.8171. Shows run to May 15.
