Ancient Drama directed by Panos Pappas ΕΡΤ
Ancient Drama directed by Panos Pappas ΕΡΤ
Documentary series aired on ERT.
In every episode, important Greek personalities of theater analyze an ancient tragedy and relate to it. They talk about their theatrical approach, the difficulties of presenting an ancient tragedy or comedy today and they have a live dialogue with the audience.
I participated in the following episodes.
January 15, 2017 Euripides’ Hecuba”- Roula Pateraki
The importance of the great legacy of ancient drama is unquestionable but questions are arising about how to handle it in modern times. Roula Pateraki talks to young actors about Euripides’ “Hecuba”.
The always adventurous director and actress talks about the heroes of ancient drama transformed from perpetrator to victim, the immense revenge of a queen, and the war that remains unceasing and increasingly demanding. How can the modern audience understand one of Euripides’ toughest heroines?
The whole episode can be viewed here
31Oct2017 Aeschylus ‘Perses’ – Stavros Tsakiris
Director Stavros Tsakiris talks to young actors about Aeschylus’ Persians:a rare anti-war tragedy where the tragic hero is a whole nation. “Perses” is not a hymn to the victory of the Greeks, nor is it an indirect reference to the bravery of the winners. It is a poem about defeat management, resistance to absence and a study on grief.
It is a poem about Queen Atassa and the group of elders (chorus) in the Persian court watching their triumph turn into a list of deaths. Howcanyoumanagesuch a text? What are the challenges of the Chorus and how can the actor’s imagination, the artist’s imagination, awaken the spectator’s imagination?
The whole episode can be viewed here
14November2017 Aeschylus’ The Libation Bearers (Oresteia) – Kostas Georgousopoulos
In the second part of Aeschylus’s only surviving trilogy, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Kostas Georgousopoulos talks to young actors about the “Libation Bearers”, a tragedy about the murder of Clytemnestra by her son Orestis that creates a sequel of deaths. A talk about self-righteousness and the mistakes people make when trying to understand Gods.
This ancient tragedy deals with the ambiguity of gods’ will, people’s doubts, the tenderness in the shadow of death, as well as the fate of the rebellious slaves of Troy who are drawn up against Clytemnestra. What are the characteristics of the ancient text? Whatarethe challenges of translating it? And what is the most important scene ever written in theater?
The whole episode can be viewed here
21November2017 “Rissos” by Euripides – Katerina Evangelatou
Euripides “Rissos” ” was directed by Katerina Evangelatou at the archaeological site of Aristotle’s Lyceum during the Athens Festival in 2015. The director talks to young actors about a truly original and different work Rissos, the subject of literary studies for decades about the paternity of the work, finds exceptions and peculiarities and is not easily classified as a dramatic genre.
Our well-known heroes, Hector, Aeneas, Dolonas, Odysseus, are already ten years in the Trojan War, when the King of Thrace arrives at the camp of the allies of Trojan ready to win the battle. A discussion they all have raises questions about the nature of war, the circles that History makes, and the fortunes of people. Katerina Evangelatou chose a sweet and bitter reading of the play as a dream, ananti-warsatire, where the heroes of the “Iliad” are children playing war with paper hats, with tin buckets on their heads and wooden swords.
The whole episode can be viewed here
02 January 2018 Euripides “Medea” – Stathis Livathinos
The director and artistic director of the National Theater of Greece Stathis Livathinos, talks with young actors about Euripides’ “Medea”, a tragedy for the man and woman, Jason and Medea, and the anxiety they feel in their existential drama. It is a discussion about historical moments that are measured by their artwork, of ancient drama as an art of dialogue, and of the deep radicalism of the theater that cannot leave people indifferent
The heroes of the tragedy are changed and evolved in front of us, in a work where the poet Euripides creates a terrific game for the spectator’s imagination. Each period of time reads in its own way the tragic faces of Jason and Medea. Can you today, in the historical moment that image is above everything, “punch” a person with a word?
The whole episode can be viewed here
January 16, 2018 Sophocle’s “Oedipus Tyrannos” – Konstantinos Markoulakis
The actor and director Konstantinos Markoulakis, along with a group of young actors, unravel the plot of the great creation of ancient Greek dramaturgy, the work on which Aristotle based the rules for his “Poetry”: “Oedipus Tyrannus”. The fate of Oedipus, the smartest of people, is masterfully knitted by the tragic poet Sophocles in his maturity. It is an ancient tragedy that took place at a time when theater was part of the system of democracy and the way people shaped their perception of the world.
The work up to this day still strongly denotes its presence, not only teaching fiction, but also reminding us of the cost of truth, maturity and the power of fate. What is our relationship with the project today and what are our responsibilities? Can anyone be crushed more than one who falls from too high?
The whole episode can be viewed here
Directed by: Panos Pappas, Despina Charalampous
Production Director :Aliki Kolovou
Assistant Director :Alexandra Verikokou
Sound:Alexander Vassilopoulos
Editing :Despina Charalambous, Yiannis Drosos., Iro Vretzaki
Director of Photography Yiannis Gemeliaris
Production Organization Nikos Kraskas
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