THEATRE IN THE COMMUNITY - THEATRE AND SOCIETY
"100 YEARS FREE KESARIANI... AND WE CONTINUE"
restarting community theatre in Kesariani - at Kesariani Shooting Range- 25 May 2023
A collective history site specific community performance with story-telling, song and dance, based on the books "Οnce in Kesariani" by SPIROS TZOKAS and "Dawn in Kesariani" by IOANNIS TSIANTIS. Concept/ text synthesis/ stage direction - Angeliki Kasola In the role of Kesariani - Irini Mela
"100 YEARS FREE KESARIANI... AND WE CONTINUE"
Guest Singers
Vangelis Korakakis Vivi Voutsela Takis Konstantakopoulos Katerina Katsigianni
Musicians
Stelios Varveris - bouzouki, oud, Nikos Mourgelas - qanun Kostas Georgoulis - violin, Dimitris Papadamis - accordion, Nikos Protopapas – guitar, Panagiotis Tsitsikas -contrabass
"We believe in a theater from below, from the community and for the community. Where the performance becomes the occasion to create collective experiences, to remember and confirm bonds of friendship, companionship and solidarity, in times where living within society is largely based on fear and alienation... And to tell our stories with persistence so that our speech is not extinguished, nor crushed by the dominant narratives"...
Angeliki Kasola
Artistic Director/Director
Restart Theater Athens
50 residents of Kesariani were invited to sing, dance and narrate the history of their city, share their experiences, their memories... With them, during the process of creation, from the very first meetings until the performance, were the writers Spyros Tzokas and Ioannis Tsiantis, Angeliki Kasola and Irini Mela from Restart Theater Athens -animating the community and creating the performance- as well as professional musicians, in a rich collective co-creation for the celebration of the 100 YEARS ANNIVERSARY of the founding of the city of Kesariani by Asia Minor refugees on May 25, 1923...
Giota Efstathiou made a special contribution to the coordination of the local actors. The choir was prepared by Vivi Voutsela, the dancers by Yiannis Goultas
In the narration of excerpts from the book "Dawn of Kesariani" sarianis", in song and baglama and the musical co-ordination was Ioannis Tsiantis
The poem "Staman Kalomina" composed by Georgios Konstantinidis for the "200 executed of Kesariani" in the Pontic Dialect and in memory of his father's brother Alekos Konstantinidis, from Vatum, who was 44 years old when he was executed in May Day 1944 by Nazis at Kesariani Shooting Range, was heard as an audio excerpt with the interpretation of actor Takis Vamvakidis accompanied by the Pontian lyre player Dimitris Akritidis
Athina Koumarianou delivered the words of resistance fighter Eftychia Mourikis, the so- called "Mother of Kaisariani" at her trial by the victors of the Civil War following the Liberation from the German Occupation, who together with her son Yiannis Koumarianos joined the performance as Volunteers from the Haidari Municipality.
THE CREATORS
Angeliki Kasola
Concept / text synthesis / stage direction
Irini Mela
Actress / Kesariani
Spiros Tzokas
Historian / Author / Once in Kesariani
Ioannis Tsiantis
Cardiologist / Author / Dawn in Kesariani
THE SINGERS
Vangelis Korakakis
Vivi Voutsela
Takis Konstantakopoulos
Katerina Katsigianni
"Many congratulations to everyone. To everyone who organized the evening of love and memory. An evening for the 100 years of the history of Kesariani and its people. Their songs and stories their poverty and struggles, Admiring at the same time the coordination and the perfect guidance of Angeliki Kasola, and the interpretive presentation of the texts by Irini Mela. Well done to the residents who took part, the musicians and singers who gave the deep emotion to us who were there. Angeliki, Irini and to everyone for taking part our warmest congratulations."
- Efi Kanakousaki, 5/7/23, 2:07 PM
"Congratulations!!! It was a great show"'
- Voula Kiskira 5/27/23, 2:15 PM
"Congratulations all great"
- Xrysoyla Delimoytsakh 5/27/23, 2:15 PM
"Wonderful event, performance, wonderful Irini Mela, all the performers amazing, songs beautiful and painful... We loved Kaisariani more, we left our soul there in the bloody place... Thank you for the beautiful feelings!!!!!!! !!!!
- Hermione Sfarna 5/27/23, 2:51 PM
"Yesterday's performance was sensational. An unsurpassed crescendo of emotions. A historical journey, rich in theatrical speech, action, texts, music and songs. The history of Kesariani, from 1923 to the late post-political years, was glorified in the Shooting Range of Kesariani. Kesariani bequeaths to succeeding generations the sacred duty and mission of protecting it against all those official and unofficial circles who are desirous of undermining it. May the People of Kesariani work united with a single purpose, to save, with the power of art and spirit, the cultural treasure handed down to us by our predecessors. Let this be our only study! Blessings to our place!"
- Panagiotis Koumariotis 5/27/23, 2:09 PM
and a big heartfelt thank you to our friends and spectators, old and new... Your love makes miracles happen...
"A lot of emotion, memories, images, colors, sounds, melodies that touched our souls. A big thank you. I hope you will stage the performance of Napoleon Soukatzidis in the sacred space again this year and we will take part again. A big thank you"
- Polemi Angela 5/27/23, 2:51 PM
"Magnificent blockbuster on the lessons of Ancient Tragedy. It captivated us!"
- Eftychia Maria Rodopoulou 5/27/23, 2:00 PM
"The most beautiful, moving, powerful thing I've seen in recent years. Well done. You reminded us who the real Kesariani is"
-Maria Stravaridou 5/27/23, 4:35 PM
"One voice. All the instruments. One Mourning song. One hymn . One pain . One admiration. A thumbs up and many thumbs up to our sweet-nightingale singer Katerina."
- Panagiotis Stathopoulos 5/27/23, 2:53 PM
"It was a great show!! Congratulations to all the cast"
- Spyridoula Bougeli 5/27/23, 2:42 PM
"What can we say about all this beauty you gave us, you made us once again proud of our origin!" Thank you very much to our honored Kaisariani and to all those who left us a legacy!!"
-Vagnelis Plytas5/27/23, 1:59 PM
"A great show. Well done to all the cast."
-costas anagnostakis eugenia lymberi 5/27/23, 2:41 PM
"Congratulations, well done, very nice"
-Olga Hyderioti 5/27/23, 2:15
"Wonderful evening THANK YOU SO MUCH"
-Nota Psouni 5/27/23, 2:41 PM
"The show offered us excitement, knowledge, and strong emotions mentally walking in the footsteps of our ancestors who came, took root and grew up in the beloved Kaisariani."
-Anna Akasoglou 5/27/23, 1:59 PM
"You made me cry now at 67 years old not from sadness but from joy"
-Heracles Milano 5/27/23, 1:58 PM
"We were there! A big thumbs up to the whole team! for the great event!!"
-Helen Krikoni 5/27/23, 1:57 PM
Did you know?
Angeliki Kasola and Irini Mela return for the third time to the Shooting Range of Kesariani for a performance/theatre installation in the Community
With the city of Kesariani and its inhabitants, we are connected by bonds of friendship and heart, creative, human since 2015. We first met for the creation of the performance/installation of historical memory "The Cycle of Futile Acts" by Spyros Tzokas, on the life and death of the Asia Minor legendary hero Napoleon Soukatzidis; one of the 200 communists that were executed by the Nazis on May Day 1944 at the Kesariani Shooting Range on May Day 1944. They are now called "The 200 of Kesariani". 60 volunteers from Kesariani and other neighborhoods of Athens participated, while around 40 men undertook to represent the executed from the stage. The radio station 105.5 STO KOKKINO helped us organize the performance and communicate with the community.
In 2018, we returned again to the same location, the site at the execution grounds, with the same play, but after it had evolved into a performance for 2 actors and had toured for three years in martyred villages and places of resistance from one end of mainland Greece to the other, as well as in the island of Crete, in a parallel biographical tour following in the footsteps of Napoleon Soukatzides -where he had lived, acted was imprisoned and moved from one concentration camp to the other until his execution in Kesariani. This time our call for participation from the community was answered by 100 men and women from Kesariani, other neighborhoods of Athens and some traveled from the countryside to participate... In this performance, apart from the tragic chorus of the men representing the executed, a tragic chorus of women was created, representing the mothers, sisters, fiancees of the executed... The event was organized in collaboration with the festival "OCTOBER 12, 1944. FREE ATHENS" and the performance was filmed by the State Television that broadcast it on May Day 2019.
In this third visit to the community of Kesariani, we had the undivided support of the Asia Minor Association of Kesariani, in the organization but also in the participation, as its members from the choir, dance and theater departments participated in the creation and presentation of the performance.
Our rehearsals were hosted at the historical school of Venizelos in Kesariani. Our public schools, with all their problems, are a support for the creation of culture as throughout Greece they house cultural clubs and local organizations after the end of classes that would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet and create...
100 YEARS FREE KESARIANI - AND WE CONTINUE...
STAY TUNED FOR STORIES, PHOTOS, VIDEOS FROM THE CREATION BEHIND THE SCENES
A unique community theater experience for creators, participants and the audience of Kesariani