Two plays and a …tragedy!
These past two months have been very “theatrical” to Greek Americans who happened to live in New York. The National Theater of Greece was here, managing to Electrify the audience to the extent of …Electrocution, in a series of performances that unfortunately weren’t …Steinless! If I have you lost already, give me a minute to explain myself.
Greece’s state-sponsored troupe presented Sophocles' "Electra," directed by Peter Stein, the acclaimed German theater and opera director who made his New York debut. The plot has Orestes, son of Agamemnon, returning in secret to Mycenae with his Tutor and his faithful friend, Pylades, in order to punish Clytemnestra and her paramour, Aegisthus, who have murdered his father. At the end Orestes accomplishes his mission, to the delight of Electra, who during the play goes out of her way in mourning her dead father and calling to heaven for the punishment of his murderers.
I don’t have enough space to go into details, but after seeing the play I was left with the same sensation one has after watching a horror movie on TV. I don’t know if it were because Halloween was in the offing, otherwise I can’t see how Mr. Stein had Orestes come out of the palace with a dripping blood dagger and then Clytemnestra – the majestic, otherwise, Karyofyllia Karambeti - wrapped in a white shirt which, when uncovered, revealed her body soaked in blood again! I wouldn’t have minded if this production was German, British or who knows what else, but supposedly the National Theater of Greece has an identity of its own when it comes to aesthetics, that leaves no space for—ketchup--and other effects of the kind. Unlike soccer, where Mr. Stein’s compatriot Otto Rehagel led the National Team of Greece to perform miracles, drama is Greek-born and it can’t be treated in a Mel Gibson “Apokalypto” style by Greeces’ National Theater. Don’t get me wrong, I am fully pro-experiment, but this theater has, I repeat, a precious identity that giants like Koun, Roderes and Co sweated a lot to establish!
Besides the blood-Steined scenes. though, there were other things that made me uncomfortable, to put it gently. Orestes – played by Apostolis Totsikas – wasn’t convincing at all. First of all, in front of the well-built Aegisthus – Lazaros Georgakopoulos – whose selection of clothing made him appear like a crypto-gay from a Nazi special force, Orestes seemed tiny, weak and too childish to be taken seriously. Not only couldn’t he have killed anybody, but it looked as if Aegisthus would kick his ass any moment now! Totsikas, a capable young actor otherwise, doesn’t have the Al Pacino spark!
On a more positive note, Stefania Goulioti as Electra was excellent – where would this young girl draw such remarkable strength and maturity from! – veteran Yannis Fertis as Tutor managed to make an impression in a minor role – but again, nothing is minor in the classical drama - and the chorus was wonderful, with the exception of the other horrific part, when they jumped over Clytemnestra’s dead body in a scene the again reminded of “Apokalypto”!
No doubt Peter Stein is a genius and he knows classical theater very well – at the age of 11 he translated “Philoktetes” from Ancient Greek into German. Also, his idea to try new and inexperienced actors – supported by two or three veterans – was brave and refreshing. I wish he would have treated the performance with more seriousness, though, and in the same “scientific” way by which he approached the translation, as he explained during a conference at the Greek Press Office.
And because, as in ancient times, a tragedy has to be followed by a comedy, the Greek Cultural Center in Astoria, New York, came up with “The Frogs” by Aristophanes in which Dionysus (Evangelos Alexiou) - the god of theater - disappointed with the state of theater in Athens, sets out to visit the Underworld to bring back the great tragic poet Euripides. Dionysus, disguised as Heracles, together with his funny and cunning servant Xanthias, have a series of comic adventures.
Directed by Magdalena Zira - young but very experienced, with Oxford credentials – and a cast of well-placed and trained actors, this performance was a refreshing surprise that proves that art can still be found in little …venues, such as the Center’s little theater. Moreover, listening to the way Aristophanes treats two of the greatest-ever drama representatives, Eurypides and Aeschylus, one is reminded that criticism and, yes, iconoclasm are a necessary component in every society that wants to be considered civilized and its people real citizens (imagine how Aristophanes would have treated Mr. Stein’s Electra!). A must-see play; performances are given Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM, Sundays at 2:30PM & 7:30PM, for five weekends. For more information call (718) 726-7329.
Fortunately, after …Electrocution, I had the chance to see another comedy, modern this time, which reminded me of a Greece that we came to know as children through the black-and-white movies of the long gone Greek cinema. In celebration of the 100th year of the birth of D. Psathas, THEATRON staged a theatrical adaptation by Loukas N. Skipitaris assisted by Stellios Manolakakis, of one of the most highly-acclaimed comedies, “Etairia Thavmaton / The Miracle Co.” Somewhere in today’s Greek countryside, a celibate and God-fearing young man, Ilarios (Manos Pantelides), owns a field that, unbeknownst to him, has oil. Gus, a Greek-American, and Kosmas (Demetris Bonaros, a very talented actor who carried the night – at least in the performance I attended,) an Athenian, concoct a plan to swindle Ilarios out of his field by creating fake miracles, which they tell him are the deeds of a pseudo-saint who was said to have lived and died in that field.
It’s a beautiful play that produces good laughs and is a steal at its $20 ticket price. As in the case of “The Frogs,” Theatron too confirms in action the existence of talent in our surroundings that can perform real miracles (not like those by Kosmas) if opportunity is given. Support the Greek theater in New York in order to see one day locally-themed plays, too, making unnecessary another trip by Dionysus to the Underworld to resuscitate another classic like, why not, ...Psathas! Performances will continue until November 11. For more information call (718) 721-7610.
DEMETRIOS RHOMPOTIS
