Restart Theater Athens was founded in Athens, Greece, on January 23, 2023, as a dynamic collaboration between two women theatre creators stage director Angeliki Kasola and actress Irini Mela, with the aim of continuing our innovative work in the field of socially engaged participatory theater. United in our passion to harness theatre's transformative power in society, we share nearly 15 years of common history marked by dedication, creativity, and mutual respect as former members of the Omada Piragma theatre group.

With a vision of social change through theatrical art and the empowerment of individuals and communities, Restart Theater Athens continues to evolve the "Theater and Society" program, which Angeliki Kasola created and implemented as Artistic Director at the "Omada Piragma" theatre group (2010-2023).

This program resulted in 19 productions, including 11 large theater performances/ installations in the community, 2 annual residencies in the regions (Livadia, Amarynthos, Euboea), and 10 annual workshops for non-actors, which publicly presented their work. These works toured extensively throughout Greece, reaching audiences with limited access to theatre. Members of the company were trained in applied theatre practices, running annual workshops for non-actors and implementing A. Kasola's co-creation methodology in the production of performances.

At the same time, Angeliki Kasola's applied theater method, which is inspired by the connection between ancient Greek drama and civic engagement, has attracted international interest. This method places the theater creator in the role of the social facilitator and uses the tragic, comic, and satirical  chorus as a tool for the  integration of citizens and communities into a theatrical participatory action/performance. Thus, from our first year of operation, Restart Theater Athens has been invited to participate with performances, masterclasses, lectures, artistic exchanges, and workshops in festivals, networks, and European events, collaborating with organizations and artists from countries such as Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Denmark, France, Belgium, and Greece.

Our performance Lysistrata 2023 represented Greece at the international "F.L.I.P.T. 2023 - Intercultural Festival Laboratory of Theater Practices XXIII edition," July 7-16, 2023, amongst 10 countries from East to West and 80 theatre creators while the project WOMEN InterACT (participatory theater as a tool against the double exclusion of women) in collaborations with the social theater collective Kolektyw Kobietostan from Poland (leader) and the collective Drustvo ZIZ from Slovenia has received funding by the Creative Europe program 2024-2026.

Since 2023, our STUDIO SPACE in Ano Petralona has been hosting the annual workshop WOMEN'S VOICES, where groups of women non-actors SHARE, process, document and voice their experiences in public. In 2024, we initiated the program "Theater, Society, and Literature", in collaboration with writer/ theatre critic Maro Triantafyllou, that produces Staged Readings of Literature , which bring citizens into an interactive experiential relationship with authors.

Restart Theater Athens provides its space for rehearsals and activities, offering support and mentoring to independent creators, enhancing collaboration and dialogue, with the goal of creating a fairer, more democratic, and more sustainable future for us all.

Who we are

"Our performances are vehicles to create community with our audience sharing that another world is possible. Our activities aim to be avenues of dialogue that challenge norms, and inspire unity and change"

Angeliki Kasola

Founder/Artistic DIrector

Irini Mela

Founding Member/ Actress

"As women theatre creators, we advocate for a world where women, theatre, and society unite for the safeguarding of every life form on our planet. Women creators need to break their isolation from each other, share practices and resources, co-create, raise our voices, be heard, and stand in unity"

Our shared values, strengthened by our experiences of resilience, solidarity, and unwavering commitment amidst economic and political crises in Greece, have ushered us into a new era of collaboration with the inception of Restart Theater Athens. This marks a significant milestone in our dedication to using theatre as a catalyst for social change. It builds upon the legacy of meaningful engagement with diverse audiences by drawing on our extensive experience in theoretical, practical, and applied research. This encompasses a deep exploration of the intricate dynamics between actor and performance, spectator, and the interplay between theatre art and society.

With Restart Theater Athens, we want to share this knowledge, methodology and values with our peers in Greece and abroad aiming to serve as a catalyst in contemporary Greek theatre and stand as a prominent advocate for social change through performance.