11th Spring Theater Festival fever
The International Spring Theater Festival, being organized for the 11th year by Thessaloniki’s Experimental Art Stage, has maintained its philosophy: to emphasize, on a stage, language that can bridge the gap between different languages. Seven groups from Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, Romania and Greece will present shows arranged in three mini-cycles (ancient myths, clowns and music), which will be staged at the Amalia Theater. «Live music is of major importance in the show. It is embedded in the action and is always communicating with the leading characters,» said Nikiphoros Papandreou, artistic director of the Experimental Stage. Markus Zohner and Patrizia Barbuiani, two professional mimes from the Markus Zohner Theater Compagnie, will open the festival tomorrow with a comic version of the «Odyssey,» where the two of them will interpret all the characters of the epic tale. «Paristoria,» the dance and theater show that the Italian Teatro Actores Alidos will stage on April 20, is based on the pagan rituals of Sardinia. The allegories and the myths that move between dream and reality are a journey into a collective imagination dominated by demons and saints, legends and monsters, gods and humans. Moving on to the music cycle, «Medea,» the original performance that actress Valeria Pilia will stage joined by saxophonist Gianluigi Trovesi, will be presented on April 22. The jazz tragedy, which brings out the passion of the betrayed leading character, is a combination of jazz music and texts that have been written about Medea by Euripides, Corrado Albaro and Christa Wolf. Poetry and music are the key elements in «Chantant au Lait,» the show that Maia Morgenstern will perform on April 29 and which is based on texts by contemporary Romanian poet Mircea Dinescu. Two German actors, as well as clowns, acrobats, mimes and musicians, Habbe and Meik, have come back to the festival with their show «The Best!,» to be presented on April 24 and 25, while the French production of «Monsieur et Madame O,» a comic take on a couple’s relationship and daily routine, will be staged on April 27. Finally, the premiere of Arthur Schnitzler’s «Maypole of Love,» produced by the Theatro 9 kai Kati, will mark the end of the festival on May 4 and 5. Actors Lydia Photopoulou and Lazaros Georgakopoulos will play all the characters.
