Event Category: Theater

“The Hood”

Thanasis Triaridis’ play The Hood is a dystopian future drama, a powerful punch to the stomach, written with humor, bitter irony, and absurdity.

As the author himself writes in the prologue to his book:
“So what of it? There are lakes of blood for a thousand reasons… The important thing is that we ourselves do not press the button that kills.”

A woman goes to a Distribution Station that hands out hoods and asks the clerk for one—so she can use it, as the Emergency Decree requires, at the Defense Assemblies. In these Assemblies, all adult citizens of the country are obliged to ritually murder detained migrants—by pressing a button that activates a hammer which crushes their heads. Then comes a second woman—identical in appearance to the first, but entirely different in manner and in the personal story she carries. And then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and so on. In total, ten women appear—identical in form, yet utterly different in every other way. The saleswoman suspects that it is always the same woman, sent repeatedly by the State to test her. In the end, everyone leaves the Station with the hood they desired.

Directorial Note

Thanasis Triaridis’ The Hood is undeniably a socio-political play that confronts issues concerning life itself, human values, and the freedom of will. In a regimented authoritarian state that hides brazenly beneath the hood of democracy, in a not-so-distant future, society and its pressing problems unfold. The play’s characters must obey absolutely the command of the organized State. But where does that lead? To the murder of the most precious thing a human has: memory. Without memory, consciousness is lost, all emotion is lost, and the human being functions mechanically, pressing—effortlessly and shamelessly, hooded—the button of annihilation. The annihilation of human by human.

In Western society, the act of hooding is emblematic of the social and political alienation produced by the sole surviving socio-economic system: capitalism. The surplus value of capitalism, its alienation, contains within it the suffocation of the human species. Its triumph is that this suffocation occurs almost painlessly—through a symbolic hood. The hood is the suffocation of our social life. And this suffocation, paradoxically and strikingly, produces an absolute pleasure: the pleasure of chaos.

The Direction

The direction follows the line of German Expressionism, with elements of interwar cabaret, focusing on the body and the grotesque expressions of the face, where the delivery of speech is driven by them. On the stage, the performers—a woman and a man, here (by directorial license) embodied as a non-binary person—search for the truth that has been lost, just as their memory has been lost. Their duty is to awaken the spectator and to transmit to them all the emotions and situations that arise, making the spectator a participant and accountable for what takes place on stage but, in essence, within society itself and life itself.

The stage setting of the play (again, by directorial license) is a human being—an actor-musician—used as a living stage-object. On them, the performers sit, flirt, quarrel, comment. This human stage, at times silent, at times expressing itself through sounds and live music it produces on stage, always under the prompting and command of its master, symbolizes the human as object: the human without essence, the human as slave, the migrant human, the pet human, utterly humiliated in an inhuman world.

The direction exploits the peculiar humor of the play, thereby underscoring even more intensely its harsh and dramatic substance. At the back of the stage stands a visual artwork inspired by the play, evoking the sense of a futuristic environment in which the story unfolds.

The costumes follow a retro-futuristic line.
The lighting intensifies the drama of the scenes, focusing mainly on the faces and choreographed movements of the performers.

“TRUTHS ONLY”

What happens when politics, love, and death go… on air?

In a TV studio preparing for the grand premiere of the new late-night show “TRUTHS ONLY”, two women – the host, Smaragda Lambraki, and the Minister for Citizen Protection, Clytemnestra Patrioti – come face to face just minutes before the “ON AIR” signal.

A staged set.
Pre-recorded applause.
Notes with pre-arranged questions.
Everything predictable. Everything under control.

Until two pieces of news arrive – both from the Minister’s own mouth:
(1) The massive protest is heading straight for the TV station where, very soon, the show will take place. The official reason? The 13th dead protester “from the fire of defending police officers.” The real reason? (and 2) The identity of tonight’s dead protester…

How much propaganda, how many certainties, how many masks and worn-out lies would collapse if a person were to learn that tonight’s dead protester is their very own father – and that the “political” figure responsible for his death is sitting right across from them?

“TRUTHS ONLY”, the new play by Spyros Sourvinos, is a play about love and truth, about faith and betrayal, about utopia and… the non-existent emergency exit toward it.

Two women, trapped on a stage-turned-cage, struggle to manage truth, betrayal, love – and an audience that expects so much from them.

And as the cameras close in,
as their relationship is revealed,
as the protesters reach the building,
the talk show becomes theater,
and the theater turns into a showdown
of life or death.

A play about the people who refuse to remain silent,
about the loves that are born in the mud of (any) power,
and about the truths that cannot bear the light.

Special thanks to Thanasis Dimitropoulos and the restaurant Honolulu Athens for their generous sponsorship.

“MENGELE”
by Thanasis Triaridis
directed by Vana Pefani

“Mengele” by Thanasis Triaridis is a gripping play that follows the rules of a psychological thriller, filled with unexpected twists and chilling insights into human nature. The production comes to the PLYFA Theater, Directed by Vana Pefani, Starring Giorgos Nasios and Eva Piadi, with Music/Sound Design & Live Textures by Orestis. From October 13 and for only six performances (October 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22), the Athenian audience will have the chance to experience this unique production at PLYFA. In January 2026, the play will travel to Zurich, at Bühne S – Theater im Bahnhof Stadelhofen Zürich.

Ticket prices: €16 regular, €12 (students, unemployed, seniors 65+, group tickets)
Suitable for: 16+

After the performance begins, entry to the theatre is not permitted. Please make sure to arrive on time.

“Like a Wild Horse”

Like a Wild Horse draws inspiration from the personal experiences of its creator, Asimo Stavropoulou. Weaving a narrative through poems and dialogues, the work delves into the complexity of identity and the process of self-discovery.

In this context, it follows the journey of Joe, a person who does not fit into the gender binary. As Joe transforms and seeks to fully inhabit their body, they encounter—and reconnect with—people who are attached to previous versions of themself.

One of the central conflicts of the piece is the relationship with the father. Interspersed dreams, expressed through dance, reveal deeper fears and unconscious struggles.

While the protagonist attempts to redefine theirself, the narrative continues with the visit of a former partner, which triggers another confrontation with the past and the older fragments of their identity. As Joe changes, their relationships are redefined.

Dance, as in ancient tragedy, serves as a witness to the protagonist’s inner struggle. Hovering between reality and dream, the work illuminates the unconscious and the individual’s need to be set free, “like a wild horse.”

“The body, like a beast, wants to charge at the orange trees, naked, to speak a truth.”

Ticket Prices: €15 regular | €10 reduced (students, unemployed, persons with disabilities, over 65, families with many children) | €5 free entry (from the PLIFA box office, first-come, first-served, if seats are available)

Recommended Age: 12+

Lovers: A Romance for Nine Characters

Where does love go when it disappears? How long does forever last? What will I never forget about you, and how much sweeter does I love you sound at night?

An aspiring writer, locked inside his home, tries to answer these questions. But the creations of his imagination leap out from his pages, take on flesh and bone, and guide him to write the one story that hurts him — the story that will change him forever.

Will he manage to live his own story, or will he too become just a photo on some dusty piece of furniture?
A story about love and growing up — like the first ice cream of summer…

I will love you
Until the end of the world
And beyond…
And even
Beyond that.

Admission: Free contribution box at the entrance
Reservation phone numbers:
+30 699 390 2424
+30 698 578 7075
+30 694 425 0159

The Guides
An original FONACT production at PLYFA
Written and Directed by Jamie Bradley
Created with FONACT Actors

Her body is silent yet she is speaking to you all the time
Who is the real Penelope?
Demi-Goddess, Lover, Tour Guide.
Everybody wants to find her, especially her long lost son. Hidden within the ancient stories she tells to contemporary Athenian visitors, her elusive spirit chimes with his own struggles.

Merging music and mythology, and created with an international ensemble. The Guides is a vibrant story of chosen family, ambiguous histories and the hidden divine feminine.

5th, 6th 7th 8th June 2025 9pm
7th June 6.45pm

Performed in English with Greek surtitles
Running time: approximately 70 minutes

BIRTHLAND
Good Girls Don’t Talk About These Things
by Mina Petrić, in collaboration with Venia Stamatiadi & Eleni Apostolopoulou

Eleni Apostolopoulou and Venia Stamatiadi collaborate with playwright Mina Petrić to create the theatrical piece BIRTHLAND: Good Girls Don’t Talk About These Things. Rooted in lived experience, the play centers on how a woman artist is treated during pregnancy.

In the film Good Girls Don’t Talk About These Things, Beatrice plays a woman who is at risk of losing her job because of her pregnancy. However, as filming progresses, the characters begin to unravel, the story collapses, and the script starts to resemble her own life more and more. Can fiction really come so close to reality?

A note from the creators
How openly do we talk about workplace discrimination that women face due to pregnancy? How often are abortions not a choice, but a forced decision to keep a job? How freely do we speak about the difficult sides of motherhood?

The play Birthland: Good Girls Don’t Talk About These Things speaks to and about women who struggle to decide whether or not they want to have children. About others who regret the choice and can’t even admit it to their own reflection. About time—how it ticks by and turns against you. About that looming NOW OR NEVER that weighs heavily on women around the ages of 35 to 40.

Because even though many of us now choose to walk away from social expectations, we still carry the anxiety. About our jobs. About whether we’ll have a family—and what shape that family will take. We constantly face dilemmas.

We believe this anxiety is something our whole generation feels. And we wanted to write a play about that: about the fear of trying to remain professionally active while facing the question of motherhood. And whether a child can grow up happy in the midst of all this chaos.

I Am the Reincarnation of Sylvia Plath

A woman, in a kitchen—though a different kind of kitchen. Because in this kitchen, nothing is being cooked. Perhaps only a suicide. After all, she flirts with death every day. But before she makes her decision, she must first confess what weighs on her.

And manage, for once, to reach completion—since in sex, she never quite does.

And to share some of her psychological traumas with her vibrator.

And to try to understand why her body, and her very existence, feel so profoundly lonely.

And to do a little sexting.

And to watch some of her favorite films.

And to leave behind a will.

And to write a few songs.

And to not ask for one last kiss. From someone who might be worth dying for.

As open as we’ve become as a society on issues that were once considered private, the stigma around our emotional and sexual difficulties remains insurmountable. We speak easily about our physical health, but we still find it incredibly uncomfortable to talk about anxiety, depression, our sexual entanglements or fantasies, or the uncontrollable sense of futility and loneliness.

“She” – with sharp humor and raw honesty – satirizes the digitization of sexual life, the power of trauma, the deep roots of patriarchy which, no matter how consciously we now try to cast it off, has already—subtly or obviously—defined us to a large extent; and the fear of what we most deeply desire: the exposure of our true selves and a deeper connection with another being. Or two. Or three. Or countless.

“Is there an app where people can cuddle to sleep? Just for a night, a one-night nap. And in the morning, each goes home or to work, wherever they want. No strings attached—you just show up in your pajamas, we lie down, and sleep holding each other. We might not even exchange names, not even say goodnight. But we hold each other like we’ve known each other forever. There isn’t one? What a shame.”

Through the desperate “baring” of her most hidden and unseen sides before an audience—without fear or shame (after all, she’s probably going to die right after)—she discovers that there is beauty even in the darkest places. Because the more we accept them and share them, the more we step into the light. And then we see—we’re not really that alone.

“I Am the Reincarnation of Sylvia Plath” is a work that references Sylvia Plath. A work inspired by Sylvia Plath. And a work that is certainly not just about Sylvia Plath.

Change: Method
A stage adaptation based on the eponymous book by Édouard Louis

It’s evening. We are in a room, filled with books, papers, and notes. In this room, a young man is trying to write. He wants to become a writer. Suddenly, another young man appears in the room, deciding to help him remember his past. The two men dive into the memory of the first one. Through this dive, we travel with them from a village in northern France to Paris. The young man who wants to become a writer will remember his high school years, faces, and situations that marked him, but mainly the process of reinventing himself and the need to escape from his past. From the beginning of the narrative, we realize that these two men are the same person. The self that wishes to become a writer is the present self, the self that wants to evolve, to move forward, while the other is the past/teenage self, a self filled with guilt and fear of the future, the self that would like to stay and constantly blames the present self for the people and places left behind. The conflict between the past and present self is inevitable.

Édouard Louis’ book, Change: Method, served as the starting point for a journey with Dionysis and Konstantinos, exploring the concept of identity in its broader sense, including sexual, class, and social identity, and how a personal story can take on social and political dimensions. Through this story, we follow the personal struggle of a person to change, to transform, to evolve, and to escape from their past.

Directorial Note:

We were not all born with the same opportunities, and not all of us were born in privileged environments. Some people come into this world learning to live under conditions of degradation. The story of this boy, from a poor family in a village in northern France, gives voice to these social classes and people who have a pre-determined and difficult future. Although I was much luckier than this boy, his story speaks to my heart, because which person doesn’t ultimately want to be loved? Which person doesn’t want to be accepted by others? Who hasn’t felt different from others, even once, at some point in their life? Who doesn’t want to find their place in this world? Only inspiration, strength, and courage do I draw from this story that Louis offers us, to move forward, to evolve, and to change myself as well. And perhaps one proof of this is the fact that I am making this performance.

I will close with a quote from Sartre, in which I believe the essence of the play Change: Method is encapsulated: “What matters is not how they made you, but what you do with what they made you.”

Eva Fraktopoulou

Important Note
Entrance is recommended for individuals aged 16 and above.

(I am) The Labyrinth 2.0

After a highly successful run with continuous sold-out performances, I am The Labyrinth returns for a limited number of shows, inviting the audience into an experience unlike any other.

I am the monster, I am the myth, I am the Labyrinth.

Directed by Riginos R, 14 international performers invite you to step into the heart of the narrative and immerse yourself in Europe’s oldest myth.

I am The Labyrinth enacts, experiences, and embraces this descent, guiding the audience through the threads of art—dance, poetry, video installations, and music—leading to the depths of the human soul. As the myth’s red thread unravels, the audience is drawn into an initiation, a journey of discovery through spectacle and experience.

The Labyrinth manifests as an expression of the collective subconscious and its mystery. Entering and solving the Labyrinth is an archetypal initiation into the self, culminating in the encounter with the Minotaur—the symbol of the ancient, the unknown, and the deeply personal. The monster within us lurks, and the exit illuminates the journey.

I am The Labyrinth invites you to surrender to an experience that leads through unpredictable, dark paths. Here, love, power, and myth converge to awaken the deepest and most unspoken aspects of our being. The Labyrinth and the Monster embody our fears of the unknown, of the forbidden. This ritualistic, immersive performance places the human body at its core—a body that narrates, records, desires, and suffers. It seeks to penetrate the Labyrinth while simultaneously searching for the way out. The Labyrinth becomes an experience for the audience.

What to Expect

• Strictly for adults (18+) – Contains intense scenes of violence and sexual content.
• Complete darkness, loud music, and intense lighting.
• Direct interaction with performers.
• Recording is strictly prohibited—this is an experience to be lived.