Directing ‘Antigone’ behind Korydallos’ high prison walls
How 27-year-old Aikaterini Papageorgiou leads the inmate troupe in their production of Sophocles’ tragedy
The journey from central Athens to Korydallos is a daily routine for Aikaterini Papageorgiou. As the director and facilitator at the Korydallos Prison Theater Workshop, she and 26 inmates are now preparing Sophocles’ “Antigone,” following last year’s presentation of “The Persians.” The performance is scheduled for June 11 and 12 in the prison courtyard.
None of the participants is familiar with theater and may have never attended a performance, Papageorgiou tells Kathimerini. Known for her work over the past two years as the artistic director of Theater Bellos in downtown Plaka, the 27-year-old emphasizes that the “Antigone” production stemmed from a workshop that began last fall with a group of inmates.
“It matters that they engage with complex texts that prompt research and knowledge accumulation. The inmates involved come from different wings, they are not friends, and their connection formed in prison relates to art.” The choice of play was not accidental. “The conflict between legal and moral law in the play is a theme that resonates within the prison. An inmate can relate it to their own life, understand it and perhaps even identify with it.”
Patience and effort
Papageorgiou, along with her collaborator Giorgos Paterakis and two female actors, is meticulously working on the details of their production. How do the inmates respond to the young director? “Initially, I encountered tremendous defensiveness and suspicion about who I was, my intentions and my connection to the prison. With patience and effort, a relationship of trust is built. These individuals feel primarily disappointed with themselves for ending up here, and secondarily with their families, the state, the system and the institutions. If they see that your intentions are genuine, they become generous and giving, creating mutual trust,” she says.
In an environment as volatile as a prison, difficult moments are inevitable. “It requires great care in how certain things are asked and said. It’s also essential to clarify who leads the group because it can easily turn from a peaceful process into a confrontational one. For example, if there has been a search the previous night, or some inmates have court dates coming up, this affects the group dynamic and needs to be managed.”
Her mornings are dedicated to the Korydallos Prison Theater Workshop and “Antigone,” while her afternoons focus on organizing the festival for the successful Contemporary Ancients Cycle at the Little Theater of Epidaurus. This includes two monologues by Vangelis Chatzigiannidis and Vivian Stergiou, inspired by Euripides’ tragedies, directed by Nikos Chatzopoulos and Papageorgiou, on July 5 and 6.
‘The conflict between legal and moral law in the play is a theme that resonates within the prison. An inmate can relate it to their own life’
Vivian Stergiou’s monologue “Iphigenia/Prey,” directed by Papageorgiou, is inspired by Euripides’ “Iphigenia at Aulis.” “Many issues addressed in the original text, now recognized as relevant to patriarchy, misogyny and gender-based violence, are incorporated into her monologue. The text has a striking similarity to how Iphigenia is sacrificed, oppressed and faces bias, solely because of her gender.”
In Stergiou’s monologue, Iphigenia, having left an abusive relationship, goes to Epidaurus for a fresh start, triggering a stream-of-consciousness reflection on stereotypes, commands and directives she heard from a young age, leading her to escape from patriarchal and abusive behaviors. “This Iphigenia is entirely a girl of today. In her descriptions, I see many of my friends, and even myself,” Papageorgiou notes.
What does a 27-year-old who boldly entered the theater scene in 2022, took on a theater, and garnered attention for her work, especially with her latest production, “The Word Progress on My Mother’s Lips Doesn’t Ring True” by Matei Visniec, experience? “Due to my gender and age, I feel as if expected to prove that what I have achieved was not accidental. At times, it’s very exhausting,” she admits.
Papageorgiou entered the theater through dance, which she was dedicated to from a young age. But at the last moment, she shifted her focus. “I fell in love with the theater as a spectator when my mother took me to see plays during elementary school. Later, while I was still a dancer, a professor, whom I consider a mentor, recommended some plays to me.” She never had an interest in acting but was drawn to directing “because it gave me the impression that you could create small worlds and share them with the audience.”
She graduated from the Performing Arts Department of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London and pursued her postgraduate studies in theater directing. She then founded The Young Quill group, maintaining the title for her subsequent work in Athens. “We wanted a space where we could be free, take risks and also host performances by groups with thematically related repertoires.”
Last year, she focused on contemporary works inspired by grim social and political issues. For winter 2024-25, the programming centers around the question: How do people survive and adapt, resist and retreat under harsh, imposed social and political regimes? To explore this, she will direct Vaclav Havel’s “Memorandum.”
How do they manage financially in the theatrical landscape of Athens, with over 2,000 productions? “Before taking on the space, we did a lot of dubbing work, and those funds were saved as a nest egg for investing in the theater. Of course, we had support from our families to maintain that nest egg.” The six-member team also work in other jobs, such as children’s theater and television. “I feel lucky that trust unites us. There were moments of disappointment, but we found a response and secured a place in the Athenian theater scene.”
She entered everything early, including motherhood. How was it to become a mother at 23? “It wasn’t the plan, but when pregnancy happened, I made a conscious decision.” What changed since then? “Spontaneity for some things. Daily life needs to be well organized. Being part of a single-parent family in Greece, unlike in England, is not easy. But I don’t feel like I have lost anything, thanks to the support of my mother and her husband. I tried not to accept that the family situation would limit other areas, but rather that it would add beautiful things to my daily life. I also rejected the stereotypes of raising a child. I accepted being a young mother and didn’t try to act older.”
Facing doubt
Professionally, Papageorgiou acknowledges facing suspicion and doubt. “So, I tried to be more diligent, consistent and organized. Youth implies inexperience, but it doesn’t mean a lack of hard work, imagination, ability, or consistency. Over time, I realized that part of the doubt wasn’t just about age but also about gender. There were moments in the theater when technicians openly expressed this.”
Does a female director have to work harder? “She has to find her own way. I don’t like harshness. I chose to be persistent and assertive. However, no matter what happens, I remain committed to what I initially proposed and want to achieve. Like a rock that doesn’t budge.”
