test STAGING CONCERNS AND APPROACHES IN EURIPIDES’ ALCESTIS: THEATRE OF VIVI|ΠΑΡΑΒΑΣΙΣ/PARABASIS

STAGING CONCERNS AND APPROACHES IN EURIPIDES’ ALCESTIS: THEATRE OF VIVI

Εξώφυλλο Παράβασις Τόμ. 20 / Cover Parabasis Vol. 20
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Published: Nov 24, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681//.43300
Simos Papadopoulos
Lina Basoucou
Abstract

This study examines the stage performance of Euripides' Alcestis by the Theatre of Vivi, directed by Tilemachos Moudatsakis. It was presented in Greece, specifically in the villages of Crete, and was part of the alternative «off» section of the Avignon Festival in 2011. The study begins by referring to key perspectives on the genre classification of the play, mentioning the unconventional dramaturgical choices that oppose the rigid conventions typically found in the dramas of classical Athens. Following this, through an exploration and interpretive analysis of the stage codes, the study highlights the distinctive features of the performance and analyses the main points of the stage approach in relation to both the play’s genre-specific peculiarities and the broader textual context. Finally, a brief evaluation of the performance's outcome is provided.

Article Details
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  • Μελέτες / Studies
Author Biographies
Simos Papadopoulos

Simos Papadopoulos is a Professor in the Department of Primary Education at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) and a theatre animator. His work focuses on theatrical and drama-pedagogical research and writing, encompassing monographs, publications in journals and collective volumes, scientific editing of books, and presentations at Greek and international scientific conferences. He participates in research projects, postgraduate programs, and committees, where he has undertaken the organization of Greek and international conferences and the publication of collective volumes. He has supervised doctoral dissertations and master's theses concerning the interdisciplinary connection of the Pedagogy of Theatre with subjects from the social and humanities sciences at DUTH and other universities. In this direction, he serves the functional relationship between theory and practice through the Postgraduate Study Programs of the Department of Primary Education, DUTH: i. «Education Sciences: Theatre Pedagogy», ii. «Alterity and Theatre Pedagogy», and through his studies: Me ti Glossa tou Theatrou (With the Language of the Theatre) (Kedros, 2007), Paidagogiki tou Theatrou (Theatre Pedagogy) (2010), and Theatro stin ekpaidefsi kai archaia elliniki skepsi. Mimisis tou kallistou viou (Theatre in Education and Ancient Greek Thought. Imitation of the Finest Life) (Papazisis, 2021). His research, teaching, and artistic activities relate to theatre pedagogy, dramatic text analysis, theatre for children and young people, and the work of Brecht and Chekhov. At the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP), he is the supervisor for upgrading the Curricula and creating educational material for Drama in Education in primary education. Specifically, he oversees the drafting of the current Curriculum and Educator's Guide, its pilot implementation, its transformation into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), and the training of Drama Educators.

Lina Basoucou

Lina Basoucou is a graduate of the School of Philosophy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Department of History and Archaeology), the Theodosiadi Drama School, and the Department of Primary Education at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Master's Degree in «Theatre and Education»). She also holds a classical singing diploma from the Panarmonio Conservatory of Athens. Since 2023, she has been pursuing a Doctoral Dissertation at the University of Western Macedonia (Department of Primary Education). She has attended numerous seminars on teaching Greek as a foreign language and on drama in education. Her scientific and research interests include theatre for children and young people, contemporary approaches to ancient drama, the semiotics of holistic theatrical discourse, literary theory, and the didactics of Greek as a foreign language. Her articles and literary texts have been published in academic journals and websites, and her papers have been included in proceedings of international conferences. She has attended seminars on acting, movement, and stage performance in opera. As an actress, she collaborated with the National Theatre of Greece; as an assistant director and theatrical animator, she worked with the PAUSIS theatre group; and as a drama teacher, she worked with the «Manolis Glezos» Greek school of the Self-Government of Greeks in Hungary and with LOGOS University College. Under the pseudonym «Angeliki Zervantonaki», she published the poetry collections Askiseis (Exercises) (Dodoni, 2003), Ep’ Omou (On the Shoulder) (2018), and participated in the collective work Me to P tis Poiisis (With the P of Poetry) (AO, 2018). Her poems have been published in online literary magazines and presented on radio programs. She worked as a philologist (secondary education teacher of Classics and Literature) in secondary schools, as well as in research organizations and administrative services of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. From 2014 to 2019, she taught Modern Greek Philology, Modern Greek Language, and Literature at the Department of Modern Greek Studies at ELTE University in Budapest and at the 12-grade supplementary Greek school «Manolis Glezos» of the Self-Government of Greeks in Hungary. She is currently seconded by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs to teach at LOGOS University College in Tirana, Albania, and at the LOGOS Foundation's Greek Language Learning Center.