The General Secretary is one of the most important examples of modern Greek drama. In it, Elias Kapetanakis develops and enhances the comic theatre of his era, castigating political and social corruption and the effect they have on family life.
Fawning behaviour, slavish deference to all things foreign, matchmaking, political corruption, clientelism, fraud, hypocrisy and theft are all paraded before us as motley characteristics of the new Greece. But at the same time, the naivete, imagination and innocence of some of the characters create a humorous image in a game of roles and masks that is almost carnivalesque.
This production by the ATONAl Theatre Group experiments with elements of slapstick comedy that run through the genre from Kapetanakis and the Marx Brothers to Gogol and the Theatre of the Absurd. The use of music accentuates the satire, positioning the grotesque at the heart of the performance. The central concept of the production is that ridiculousness is a fundamental aspect of the human condition, imbued with comic inevitability and tragic impotence.
Information
General admission €10
cast
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Michalis Valasoglou
Michos, Kalpidis -
Lida Koutsodaskalou
Magdalene -
Rena Kyprioti
Penelope -
Sophia Marathaki
Theoni -
Leonardos Batis
Lambros -
Konstantinos Papatheodorou
Stratigis, Kleon -
Fotini Papachristopoulou
Marouso, Lily, Venetis -
Giorgos Syrmas
Konstantis, Chrysoglou -
Dimitris Tsigrimanis
Theodoros -
Nikolas Hanakoulas
Kosmas, Georges