ABSTRACT
Contemporary Greek theatre, as the most public of arts, has been most susceptible to the sea changes that an unprepared, fairly resistant Greek society has been forced to adjust to. Greek theatre has indeed started travelling abroad, with plays being translated into foreign languages and productions participating in international festivals and projects. The ‘lonely wolf’ of contemporary Greek theatre is characteristic label that has been attached to Yannis Mavritsakis. As he avoids making a public persona for himself and seldom – if ever – gives interviews, his portrait can only be peripherally drawn, best elucidated by the accounts of the people who have collaborated with him. Kitsopoulou performs all the neuroses of social and personal crisis in an existential way, interacting with the audience in a raw, affective manner. Kitsopoulou is the vibrant body and the loud voice, the provocative physical presence who places herself centre stage; Mavritsakis is the persisting, haunting shadow behind the backdrop and in the wings.
