Archives: Events

“CARNAGE”
by Makis Semertzidis

The human soul often remains bound—by psychological trauma, societal expectations, fear of truth and  of one’s real self. It feels as if you are watching life through an indistinct, rigid, transparent wall, longing in vain to tear down what keeps you at a distance, while others live a life you cannot reach.

What is the first act of violence? What are the stages of this evolving brutality that shape the formation of a young person? The perception of violence takes on different dimensions. It is not only physical but also existential—where the refusal to mature, the suppression of identity, and unhealed wounds shape life as decisively as fate itself.

In this play, we explore the trapped self—Sebastian, an eternal child in a man’s body, and Violet, rewriting reality to maintain control. These two, almost archetypal figures, are transformed when a new force disrupts their fragile balance. Each character is imprisoned, confined by societal barriers and personal ghosts, seeking refuge in fantasy, only to discover that illusion is both sanctuary and trap.

“After the End”
by Dennis Kelly

The psychological thriller by award-winning British playwright Dennis Kelly will be performed at PLYFA from March 5th, every Wednesday and Thursday at 21:00, directed by Anna Micheli, starring two outstanding young actors, Foivos Papakostas and Katerina Spyrou.

Dennis Kelly, one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary British drama, is highly regarded in Greece. His plays, such as Orphans, DNA, Osama the Hero, Debris, Love and Money, Girls and Boys, and the musical Matilda (based on Roald Dahl’s book), have been staged with great success. After the End, written in 2005, proves to be prophetic—a psychological thriller about power dynamics and the ways people manipulate each other in extreme circumstances.

Synopsis:
When the world, society, and the rules you knew have collapsed, what do you do? When stepping outside means death, how do you survive? How slowly does time pass within four walls? How quickly do relationships and people change when they only have each other?
Louise and Mark are colleagues. A nuclear explosion has forced them into an underground shelter, where they must remain until radiation levels drop and it is safe to leave. In this forced confinement, their best and worst instincts emerge. A complex relationship of intimacy, manipulation, and abuse unfolds through the minutes, hours, and days they spend together, isolated from the outside world. How much of themselves can they bear to lose? Or perhaps—how much can they reveal?

Director’s Note:
I first came across After the End 15 years ago while studying directing in London. Back then, I saw a well-crafted play with three-dimensional characters and a gripping plot full of twists. The dystopian premise of forced confinement due to an external threat seemed like a work of fiction. After our recent collective experience, I now see the play differently. A confined space. Two people—a man and a woman—forced to coexist for an uncertain period, trapped in a shelter. The threat of death if they step outside. These elements now feel unsettlingly familiar. After the End compels us to question who we are within the “normality” of our world, how we present ourselves to others, and how swiftly we shed our identities when survival becomes the priority and fear dominates. Another crucial question the play raises—one that has preoccupied me a lot recently—is how an abusive relationship begins. What are the tactics, the words, the comments, the restrictions? How is manipulation built? How does someone slowly become trapped in a controlling dynamic with no apparent escape? At what point does it become clear who the perpetrator is and who the victim? Are we who we think we are, or are we defined by our actions? Mark and Louise seem to embody two opposing sides of the same civilized world—two contrasting social and political perspectives. Stripped of any connection to society or civilization, they are forced to confront themselves and each other. — Anna Micheli

Content Warning: Some scenes contain intense violence
Duration: 90 minutes (no intermission)
Suitable Age: 18+

“Je reviens”
A Toast to Undelivered Loves

No.
My harmonious, sweet ocea—
Neither.
My dear beloved.
Or rather,
Incredible baby!
My breath.
My man.
My crown.
No. No. No.
Isn’t a single word truly worth it?

Do not call me “beloved” if I am not, do not send me “warm regards” if you do not mean them. Sing me a song. Perhaps I will understand more. Is that too much to ask?

Outside, drums, trumpets, choral music pierces the silence. Saint-Saëns, Holst, Baltas, van der Laag, Polemi intertwine with the words of Seferis, Sikelianos, Rimbaud, Verlaine, a Portuguese nun. Or are they mine?

I wanted to sign off with “yours forever.” Nothing could be more wrong. Better to say je reviens. In a song. Will this phrase become the permanent epilogue of the letters I never sent?

Let’s drink to that!

The renÉssence Vocal Ensemble is an a cappella vocal group founded in 2019 in Corfu by seven young musicians, all graduates of the Ionian University. Since 2021, it has been based in Athens, where it creates concerts and performances, combining repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century with elements of speech and movement.

The ensemble has performed at major events, such as the European Youth Days and the Sacré Sacred Music Events. Recently, it presented the performance Je reviens in two sold-out shows at the Baggeion Hotel and recorded the piece A Dream by Manthos Damigos.

Duration: 70 minutes (without intermission)
Suitable for ages: 15+

The Movie Teller
by Hernán Rivera Letelier

Every sunset is like the final panoramic shot of an old movie,
a Technicolor and Cinemascope film, with the soundtrack being the sound of the wind
on the sheet metal. A movie that repeats itself day after day.
Sometimes sad, sometimes less so. But it always ends the same way.

In the arid and barren landscape of the Atacama Desert in Chile, life is tough for the inhabitants. Most are impoverished workers in nitrate mines and cannot afford even a trip to the cinema—the only source of entertainment in the area. A gifted young girl, however, takes it upon herself to watch the movies and narrate them back to her fellow villagers. Her home transforms into a unique stage, where with extraordinary narrative skill, the girl brings the movies to life. Through her distinctive artistic talent, the young narrator dreams of a different life, beyond the confines of the harsh social reality surrounding her—until the arrival of television changes everything.

Since the novella by Chilean author Hernán Rivera Letelier was first published in 2009, it has achieved great success, been translated into numerous languages, and adapted for the theater and, recently, for the cinema. In The Movie Teller, the boundaries between life, cinema, dreams, and even theater are fluid and constantly intertwined. Young director Nikolas Lampakis transforms the small stage of PLYFA into the living room of the narrator, also known as the “Cine-Fairy,” inviting us to experience one of her famous narrations ourselves. The performance explores, through the simplest elements of theater and cinema, the power of imagination as a source of inspiration for another life. In the narrations of this unique folk artist, the story of everyday people—and perhaps an entire nation—is reflected. These are people who envisioned and fought for change but remained proud despite the painful disillusionment of history.

Nikolas Lampakis, after studying Law in Thessaloniki and Performing Arts and Theater in Paris, graduated from the National Theater School of Directing in 2022. Since then, he has worked as an assistant director at the Art Theater Karolos Koun (Macbeth, directed by Thanasis Dovris) and the National Theater (Topography of Death or Let Us Not Forget, directed by Bricena Gjisto; The Final Solution, directed by Sotiris Roumeliotis; The Line of the Horizon, directed by Giorgos Pavlou). In 2024, he directed the children’s play We Fell from the Clouds in Thessaloniki, written by Maria Albanou, as well as two new theatrical works for teenagers in the format of staged readings at the National Theater.

In the role of the narrator, we find Noemi Vasileiadou, an actress with significant collaborations already under her belt, most recently in Oxygen by Giorgos Koutlis. She also stood out with her first solo performance, Caution: Works in Progress.

Duration: 70 minutes

ABYSS
a paradoxical rite of passage

After the successful completion of three original works—“Red Notebooks” (2020), “Touring Theater Troupe” (2022), and “Algorythmos” (2023)—award-winning actress and creator Eleana Georgouli presents her new play, “Abyss,” at Venue 7G of PLYFA.

“Abyss” brings to life the paradoxical universe of a dystopia. In a near-future world on the brink of collapse—ravaged by endless wars and human-induced climate change—we witness a gamified struggle for survival. Through a chain of poetic episodes, six performers form an explosive Chorus in a relentless, pulsating performance that tests the absolute limits of their mental, moral, and physical endurance.

THE STORY
The island of ARCADIA is a modern-day PROMISED LAND, where social and political justice, prosperity, and exceptional environmental conditions prevail. Before reaching ARCADIA, travelers must pass through ABYSS, a barren intermediary islet housing the Inspection Station. Thousands of travelers arrive here, fleeing their own islands in pursuit of a dreamland.

The Special Committee of ABYSS examines these newcomers to determine if they are eligible to proceed to ARCADIA. The crucial prerequisite for the entry card is to pass ALL stages of the EVALUATION process. Those who fail are sent back to their islands of origin.

But what happens when this process turns into a dangerous and surreal survival game with no end in sight?

CREATOR’S NOTE
Set in a familiar yet imaginary future, the play draws inspiration from humanity’s primal urge to dream of the “ideal” and the eternal disillusionment of this ideal. Through a series of episodes—sometimes absurd, sometimes tragicomic, and at other times despairing—the play focuses on the anxieties of modern humans confronting invisible or shadowy forces that govern their lives.

In an atmosphere oscillating between metaphysical comedy and dystopian thriller, the protagonists face a labyrinthine process of skill collection and credential approval. The central demand of the COMMITTEE during this evaluation process is the travelers’ compliance with the game’s rules. However, to align themselves with these rules, the travelers must progressively renounce every value they hold—ideological, political, or cultural. Through an endless and tormenting process, they must not only demonstrate psychological resilience but transcend their identity on every level (gender, race, class).

With depth and levity, “Abyss” explores the anatomy of the human soul in its thirst for hope and freedom, questioning how far the pursuit of these ideals can lead us.

“Abyss” is presented under the auspices and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture.

Duration: 90 minutes