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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

The melodist of my Lady
Luna Cantat

January 22–23, 2025
February 1, 2 & 16, 2025

The theatrical group Luna Cantat presents the dramatic lyrical text “The melodist of my Lady”, a tribute to motherhood.

The work delves into the profound loneliness that emerges from the loss of one’s mother. The protagonist, a 35-year-old man, returns to his mother’s home immediately after her funeral. He confronts her absent presence through her personal belongings, her scent, his memories, and the realization that true adulthood begins with orphanhood.

These initial moments in his mother’s home become a hymn to his sacred woman and a ceremonial beginning of his own eternal mourning in the truest, most mature stage of life.

DURATION: 60 minutes without intermission.

GYNAME
An improvisational performance by the Improvvomen group!

13 women, of different ages, personalities, and sometimes even ideas, live, survive, rejoice, and grieve in the same play. Sometimes as spectators and other times as protagonists.

Before the audience’s eyes, an improvisational performance unfolds without a script. Inspired by everyday moments and shaped by audience input, it tackles—with humor, or sometimes not—issues that affect us all, positively or negatively.

“How beautiful are you?”/ “Do you know how much your smile lifts my spirits?”/ “When will you get married?”/ “Still no kids yet?”/ “Have you gained weight?”

Their shared experiences and concerns unite them in a life that creates its own performances and representations. All so different, yet so similar!

Are groups a refuge? Is togetherness possible? Can society change by respecting differences? Can it really happen?

Duration: 60–70 minutes