Dejan Dukovski’s ‘Other Side,’ a study of the wounds of war
Performances by new theater companies continue at the Scholeion venue, with a play inspired by the recent wars in the former Yugoslavia and the general impact of war on people. The 9 kai Kati Theater of Lydia Fotopoulou, Lazaros Georgakopoulos and Maria Katsiadaki inaugurated Dejan Dukovski’s «Other Side» yesterday and will also stage it tonight with the participation of young actor Giorgos Dambassis. Fotopoulou pointed out that the play has been staged abroad and has received various distinctions and awards. Two women and two men, complete with all their psychological war wounds, meet in a bar. «It is right after the war, although it is not actually mentioned anywhere in the play and we also left it rather vague. But ‘Other Side’ is not just about that, it is about the other side of things in general, even the other side of ourselves,» said Fotopoulou. The war has resulted in a police state, alcoholism, prostitution and drugs, but people keep searching for the other side, love, in this harsh environment. «The two older characters, played by Lazaros and Maria, used to date and now meet up by chance in the bar. The man is a puppet master and the woman a prostitute. The other man, played by Giorgos, is a young man trying to trick his way out of life, while I play a young woman looking for love but in a very strange way, as all the characters have hardened growing up under such circumstances.» Fotopoulou believes Greek society also has such tough characters. «You can see that hardness all around. That is why we believe Dukovski wanted the older man to be a puppet master, to show that these creatures are pawns in somebody’s hands, as we all are.» The mise-en-scene and the direction were carried out by all four actors, but Georgakopoulos has the lead part, according to Fotopoulou. «We tried to help the audience understand the playwright’s twist regarding time, where he reverses the order of events. He puts in the first scenes the events that happened after midnight and in the second part the events that happen before.» Scholeion, Pireos & Venizelou, near the Ion factory. For ticket information, contact the Hellenic Festival.
