Nekyia
Giannis Aggelakas, musician, poet and creator of the Greek rock scene, collaborates with established choreographer Christos Papadopoulos on Nekyia, a unique viewing and listening experience of the most arresting rhapsody of the Homeric epic.
Festival Brandhaarden
Run time 60 minutes
Genre Musical theatre
Language Greek
Surtitles Dutch and English
Dutch premiere Wed 7 Feb
Aftertalk Thur 8 Feb in the Pleinfoyer
Nekyia
“I dreamed of a captivating recounting of Odyssey”, notes Giannis Aggelakas. This is not an ordinary dance or theater performance. It is also not a concert, but rather a sonotropic state in the form of a ritual, a distinct experience of ‘descent’ with an original music score by Giannis Aggelakas, which will be accompanied by the images of Christos Papadopoulos.
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The narration on stage is performed by Olia Lazaridou, as well as Giannis Aggelakas. Together with two musicians, four female voices, and the sound design of Coti K., they accompany us on a ‘surround’ descent into Hades, our core emotions, and deepest selves, inviting us to the most otherworldly, arcane, and almost occult Homeric landscape.
Neykia is based on Book 11 of Homer’s Odyssey.
About Giannis Aggelakas
Giannis Angelakas is a Greek singer, musician, and poet, better known as the lead singer of the rock band Trypes. The band toured extensively in Greece and abroad and released seven albums that have since become classics of Greek independent music. Since the band’s break up in 2001, he has gone on to make various collaborations and recordings, composing music for films and documentaries and appearing in films.
About Christos Papadopoulos
His first works, OPUS and ELVEDON, were met with great acclaim when presented at the Porta Theater in Greece. ELVEDON was the first choice of Aerowaves ’16 and was later presented in Paris, Amsterdam, and other European cities. OPUS was chosen by Aerowaves ’18, and soon after began its international tour. ION (2018), commissioned by Onassis Stegi and coproduced by Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, and Le Lieu Unique, Nantes, continues to tour successfully. LARSEN C (2021), an international coproduction, has already been presented to more than 25 venues and festivals across Europe. In 2023, he created the work MELLOWING for the prestigious dance company Dance On and, later on, MYCELIUM for the Lyon Opera Ballet and the Biennale de la Danse Lyon. These works are touring worldwide.
Christos Papadopoulos has choreographed the performances of numerous directors in Greece and has taught movement and improvisation at the Drama School of the Athens Conservatoire since 2003.
Credits
translation into modern Greek Georgios Psychountakis
concept, original music, artistic supervision Giannis Aggelakas
direction Christos Papadopoulos
free adaptation & original lyrics Giannis Aggelakas, Theodora Kapralou
orchestration Giannis Aggelakas, Elias Baglanis
sound design & additional music Coti K.
dramaturgical treatment Theodora Kapralou
set design Clio Boboti
set design assistant Marilena Kalaitzandonaki
light design Eliza Alexandropoulou
assistant lightdesign Marietta Pavlaki
costumes Eleftheria Arapoglou
director assistant Eirini Boudali
narration Olia Lazaridou & Giannis Aggelakas
keyboard, additional music Elias Baglanis
musical saw Nikos Giousef
pre-recorded modular synthesizer Dimitris Salepakis
vocals Nefeli Bravaki, Eirini Koliousi, Panagiota Koliousi, Myrto Stavrakidou Zachou.
light installation performers Pagona Boulpasakou, Amalia Kosma, Themis-Ariadne Andreoulaki, Eirini Boudali
translation english surtitles Memi Katsoni
simultaneous surtitling Yannis Papadakis
production- line production Wild Rose Productions, Giorgis Dragatakis, Evangelia Petraki
line production Cultopia, Kassie Kafetsi
photography Spyros Staveris, Alexis Archontis, Elina Giounanli
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Onassis STEGI Team
tours and international coproductions coordinator Christina Liata
tours and international coproductions assistant Polyxeni Sotirchou
tour technical manager Stavros Kariotoglou
stage manager Katerina Kotsou
set mechanics Spyros Pitsos, Nikos Papanikolopoulos
sound engineers Stefanos Papoutsakis, Dimitris Samaras
technical collaborator Giannis Kougias
Commissioned and produced by Onassis STEGI.
Brandhaarden is co-produced by Onassis STEGI’s Outward Turn Program.
12th Edition
BRANDHAARDEN FESTIVAL
Brandhaarden is an international theatre festival that brings performances by remarkable theatre makers from abroad to Amsterdam. The festival offers a unique overview of one creator, house, writer, region or theme. Previous editions have spotlighted directors such as Katie Mitchell, Milo Rau and the Rimini Protokoll collective, writer Édouard Louis, the Southern European region (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece) and city theatres such as Münchner Kammerspiele, Volksbühne Berlin and Peter Brooks Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord.
ONASSIS STEGI
The Onassis Stegi in Athens, serving as the hub of the Onassis Foundation’s cultural activities, encourages the talent and energy of local and international artists to thrive and starts conversations that aim to shake and shape society. Onassis Stegi is a center of global contemporary culture that, through a series of initiatives and works, promotes dialogue about democracy, social and environmental justice, racial and gender equality, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Fringe programme: Modern Myths
The fringe programme of Brandhaarden 2024 is all about Modern Myths. The word 'myth' has two meanings today. On the one hand, it denotes stories that contain a certain wisdom, and we speak with wonder about what we then call 'mythological'. On the other hand, we use the word to talk about lies and misconceptions. We invite the audience to reflect on the power of shared stories, but together will also look at how this can turn into widespread ideas that are not necessarily true and can thus further marginalise vulnerable communities.
Co-produced by
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