Theaters flip the calendar with a bumper crop of new productions
According to tradition, Greek theaters will be welcoming the New Year with a number of new productions, which premiered last week. Last week’s openings saw Samuel Beckett’s «Happy Days» at the Sfendoni Theater, directed by acclaimed Greek actress/director Anna Kokkinou joined by Mirka Yemetzaki. The part of Winnie is interpreted by Kokkinou, while Willie is played by Stelios Iakovidis. The sets and costumes are by Chloi Obolensky. Winnie, the play’s leading character, tries to find ways to fill in her day, while buried up to the waist in a hill and constantly subjected to the sun’s glare. In the past, the part of Winnie has been interpreted by actresses Vaso Manolidou, Roula Pateraki, Despo Diamantidou and Antigone Valakou. Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious comedy «Bedroom Farce» also opened at the Contemporary Greek Theater last week, directed and translated by Giorgos Kimoulis, who also stars in the play. The storyline evolves around different couples who either build their own lives and destroy the lives of the others or just waste their time. The last play to open in Athens last week was John Osborne’s «Look Back in Anger,» one of the most well-known contemporary plays. Directed by Yiannis Iordanidis, the production stars Alexis Georgoulis, Lina Sakka, Giorgos Hraniotis and Alexia Kaltsiki and is on at the Kivotos Theater. Thessaloniki In Thessaloniki, Irish playwright Frank McGuiness’s play «The Factory Girls» opened at the Amalia Theater, translated and directed by Glykeria Kalaitzi. Produced for the first time in Greece, the play takes place in a shirt factory, where five girls react to the danger of being fired in an unusual and dynamic way.
