New Greek Wave

There is enormous ambiguity in the Greek theatre scene at present. More and more hybrid, post-dramatic formats have joined the ranks of traditional theatre forms based on models of classical antiquity. Impending theatre closures caused by economic constraints and worsening working conditions have – strangely enough – revitalised the Greek theatre scene by forcing artists to find alternative venues and seize opportunities to explore new artistic positions. Of course, the downside of this process of transformation has been that more Greek theatre artists are now working freelance under precarious financial circumstances. In a several-day festival, Theater Bremen has offered an inside look at the young creative Greek theatre scene which is breaking with conventional structures and is increasingly turning its attention to current issues, e.g. the growing xenophobia in Greece. An important dialogue and cooperation partner was the Experimental Stage 1 at the National Theatre of Greece in Athens, established in October 2016 as a venue for unconventional theatre experiments. Two Greek directors have developed performances for presentation in public spaces in Bremen. The festival promoted exchange between Greek and German theatre artists, served as a discussion forum and offered educational workshops to young people as part of the “Junge Akteure” programme at the Theatre Bremen.

Artistic director: Marthe Labes
Project managers: Isabelle Becker, Caroline Anne Kapp
Artistic assistant: Katerina Adamara (GR)
Participants: Anestis Azas (GR), Katerina Giannopoulou (GR), Simos Kakalas (GR), Asteris Loutoulas (RO/GR), Grigoris Liakopoulos (GR), Vassilis Noulas (US/GR), Sandra von Ruffin, Martin Scharnhorst (AT), Prodomos Tsinikoris (DE/GR)