Controversial play comes to Athens stage
A daring play first performed in 1963 in London and New York was so controversial for its time that it vanished from the stage until last February. That’s when Terence Rattigan’s «Man and Boy» re-emerged to rave reviews in the British press, revived at the Duchess Theater and starring David Suchet as Gregor Antonescu. Now this dramatic love story, set amid the frenzied world of the stock exchange, is on stage in Athens at the Dimitris Horn Theater. A reflection of the modern world’s reality – where corrupt tycoons, dirty deals and the manipulation of love seem commonplace – the play’s plot is less able to shock. The drama is set inside a semi-basement flat in Greenwich Village, during New York’s stock market crash of the late 1920s, a catastrophic and topsy-turvy time that destroyed some and established others. According to one of the play’s lead actors, Stamatis Fassoulis, the play depicts a condition in which people are trapped between their desire and ability to do things. They attempt to choose a way of life until they realize it has already been chosen for them. Fassoulis described the play as a sarcastic, wild comedy «which, while progressing toward a solution, this being the fall of the ‘big hero of nothingness,’ also progressively establishes this nothingness into the ultimate aim.» The Dimitris Horn Theater’s production is directed by Fassoulis. Other cast members include Stavros Zalmas, Memos Begnis, Christos Simardanis, Stavros Nikolaidis, Mandy Lambrou, and Marianna Polychronidi. The sets were designed by Giorgos Gavalas, costumes by Margarita Hadjioannou, and lights by Eleftheria Deco. Dimitris Horn Theater, 10 Amerikis, tel 210.361.2500.
