Experimental theater group aims at transcending homogeneity
The experimental theater company Thesis, based in New York and Athens, is returning to the Greek capital with a new performance, following last year’s workshop series at the Ivi Theater and a run of performances two years ago of Jean Cocteau’s «Human Voice» at the Diana Theater. The group is coming in May with Alexandra Lazaridou’s «Absolute Frida,» directed by Yevgeny Lanskoy and scheduled to play the Hora Theater. The premiere was held at New York’s Lincoln Center, followed by shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington and at the Espace Pierre Cardin theater in Paris. «The aim of the theater group (founded in 1989) is to transcend homogeneity and to present works that are relevant to an international audience,» explained Thesis director Lazaridou in a recent telephone interview. The play «Absolute Frida» is inspired by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo and makes references to the women of Greece in a show that examines the female psyche. «We worked through improvisations, songs, music and dance,» says Lazaridou, adding that the show’s choreography is by Momix founder Moses Pendleton. «The performance is in constant evolution. We are following the course of action, examining how it works in a contemporary work,» says Lazaridou. «The text is much like a score separated into acts and it is the action (a concept very much delved into by the Russians) which transforms the actor into a creative factor. Theater is a magical process, but it also requires technique. Absolute action is the message the play is trying to get across,» says the director. The group’s next projects include a collaboration with film director Nadia Tass on «The Journey: No End, No Beginning,» which is an international production based on a Greek theme and filmed in New York, Paris, Athens and the old town of Xanthi. The screenplay is also by Lazaridou and shooting is expected to begin in October.
