Ancient Greek Theatre Performance

KOILON productions presents ‘Medea and Other Friends I Made in Athens', which is under the auspices of the Greek National Tourism Organization and is presented for the fifth consecutive year at the cultural center of the WEBSTER University; a venue at the foot of the Acropolis with the Erectheon highlighting the stage’s backdrop. The show has already been watched by over 10,000 spectators from every corner of the planet.

The performance is specially designed to be the best introduction to some of the most important works of Ancient Greek Literature, for viewers of all ages and educational levels; it does not require prerequisite knowledge or previous contact with the texts to enjoy the show.

The play, with particular respect for the originals, is a synthesis of excerpts from the Odyssey, Women in Power, Medea, Prometheus Bound, Antigone and Ploutos, and captivates the viewer by flowing effortlessly from the tragic to the comic.

In our effort to present a performance respectful of ancient Greek theater customs, all the roles, even female ones, are performed by male actors, as was the case in performances in ancient Greece. For this reason, we use 24 handmade masks representing each character, created by a renowned artist with decades of experience in this field: Yiannis Zimianitis.

The movements of the actors on stage are choreographed by the multi-award-winning choreographer Elvira Bartzokas, while the atmospheric lighting is designed by a talented up-and-coming lighting designer of Athens, Alexandros Politakis. Each costume, designed by Ioanna Grand, pays homage to the first performances of Ancient Greek theatre in the 1950’s, when the Herodion theatre was excavated.

The script, written by Yiannis Hondrokoukis, has been tailored to relate to a modern audience, and it came to fruition after extensive research on the original sources.