Ostermeier is back, this time with a comedy by Shakespeare
Following on the successful performances of Thomas Ostermeier’s «Nora (The Dollhouse),» based on Ibsen’s play, by Berlin’s Schaubuehne Theater, the Athens Festival is hosting another original Ostermeier creation: Shakespeare’s «A Midsummer Night’s Dream,» which made its world premiere yesterday, will be on stage at the Pireos 260 venue until tomorrow. «I thought that this Shakespeare classic was very appropriate since we were coming to Athens. It is a lively, summer play. We have also set up the production in a way that is suitable to an international festival. The actors and dancers are of different nationalities; we have eight different languages in the company. But the important thing in this production is not language, it is the body language. It is about how we tell a story without any words,» said Ostermeier, explaining why he chose the play. The performance is a collaboration with director and choreographer Constanza Macras (of Greek descent), who has her own dance company in Berlin and has already worked twice with the Schaubuehne. «It is a performance about love and sex,» said Ostermeier. The German director, happy to be staging a fun play after numerous productions dealing with life’s dramatic turns, promised an uplifting, lively show. The Shaubuehne take on «A Midsummer Night’s Dream» is not set in its original time and place. This version is set in the present, with the heroes finding themselves in a public venue where a party is taking place. Performances start at 9 p.m. The Pireos 260 venue is situated near the School of Fine Arts. For tickets, contact the Hellenic Festival box office (39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.327.2000).
