The Centre for Hellenic Studies at King’s College London in collaboration with the cultural organisation Culture in Action have announced a free evening (in Greek), dedicated to Iakovos Kambanellis, titled In Kambanellis’ Neighbourhoods on Sunday, 30 October 2022, at 7:00pm, at London Golden Goose Theatre.
2022 has been declared as Literary Year of Iakovos Kambanellis by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, in honour of his contribution to the Hellenic nation both as an artist and as a man. Within this framework, a series of events is organized both in Greece and abroad aiming to bring to the fore the multidimensional work and contribution of the internationally renowned writer to Greek arts and Letters.
The work is directed by Kyriaki Mitsou and include the following cast members:
Konstantinos Delimoudis, Dimitra Bakalgianni, Kyriaki Mitsou, Yannis Kouriotis, Antonis Tagoutis, and Asterios Koritas.
This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Schilizzi Foundation with a focus on Greece’s social history. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Visit: In Kambanellis' Neighbourhoods Tickets, Sun 30 Oct 2022 at 19:00 | Eventbrite
Resources | About Iakovos Kambanellis
Iakovos Kambanellis (1921-2011) was a writer and spiritual man who, though self-taught in his area of expertise, mastered all types of prose and verse, with iconic literary works and essays, unsurpassed theatrical texts, timeless screenplays, and, of course, iconic songs with music by Mikis Theodorakis.
With 40 theatrical works, he is considered one of the most prolific Greek playwrights of the 20th century. He contributed to the liberation of modern Greek theatre from the isolation in which it found itself, redirecting it from a theatre of manners and theatrical revues to social realism, poetic symbolism, satire, and minimalism. He is considered the father of modern Greek theatre and the leading voice to have articulated the reality experienced by the Greek people during the second half of the twentieth century.
As Kambanellis himself eloquently put it, “I believe that the theatre owes its continuous existence -a dynamic presence internationally, in fact, to its fortunately continuous anthropocentrism, which has always been, from the very beginning, its predominant element, its raison d’etre. Since the stage is the space par excellence where humans seek to understand what they are or could be”. He created fully drawn characters who are recognizable, authentic. Beyond his skillful writing, the immediacy of his language is one of the basic reasons that the Greeks identified with his work, loved it, and recognized themselves in his texts.
Dancing in the Wheatfields (1950) launched his long career in the modern Greek theatre. This production was followed by The Hidden Sun, Daddy War, Ulysses, Come Home, and the one acts: The Way, The Gorilla and the Hydrangea as well as other plays which would be performed much later. Recognition as a playwright would come with The Seventh Day of Creation (1956), which was embraced by both critics and the public alike. The Courtyard of Miracles (1957), was hailed as a major artistic event and established Kambanellis as an innovator in modern Greek playwriting.
Τhe intensely unstable political climate of the politically agitated 1960s concerned Kambanellis, who found himself at a critical turning point and reconsidering his modes of expression. He decided to visit London, to study the latest artistic and theatrical trends. This experience led to the writing of The Neighborhood of Angels (1963). The play, which took the form of a folk opera, introduced a new type of theatrical language to the Greek stage.
Iakovos Kambanellis (1921-2011) was a writer and spiritual man who, though self-taught in his area of expertise, mastered all types of prose and verse, with iconic literary works and essays, unsurpassed theatrical texts, timeless screenplays, and, of course, iconic songs with music by Mikis Theodorakis.
With 40 theatrical works, he is considered one of the most prolific Greek playwrights of the 20th century. He contributed to the liberation of modern Greek theatre from the isolation in which it found itself, redirecting it from a theatre of manners and theatrical revues to social realism, poetic symbolism, satire, and minimalism. He is considered the father of modern Greek theatre and the leading voice to have articulated the reality experienced by the Greek people during the second half of the twentieth century.
As Kambanellis himself eloquently put it, “I believe that the theatre owes its continuous existence -a dynamic presence internationally, in fact, to its fortunately continuous anthropocentrism, which has always been, from the very beginning, its predominant element, its raison d’etre. Since the stage is the space par excellence where humans seek to understand what they are or could be”. He created fully drawn characters who are recognizable, authentic. Beyond his skillful writing, the immediacy of his language is one of the basic reasons that the Greeks identified with his work, loved it, and recognized themselves in his texts.
Dancing in the Wheatfields (1950) launched his long career in the modern Greek theatre. This production was followed by The Hidden Sun, Daddy War, Ulysses, Come Home, and the one acts: The Way, The Gorilla and the Hydrangea as well as other plays which would be performed much later. Recognition as a playwright would come with The Seventh Day of Creation (1956), which was embraced by both critics and the public alike. The Courtyard of Miracles (1957), was hailed as a major artistic event and established Kambanellis as an innovator in modern Greek playwriting.
Τhe intensely unstable political climate of the politically agitated 1960s concerned Kambanellis, who found himself at a critical turning point and reconsidering his modes of expression. He decided to visit London, to study the latest artistic and theatrical trends. This experience led to the writing of The Neighborhood of Angels (1963). The play, which took the form of a folk opera, introduced a new type of theatrical language to the Greek stage.
[Via Greek News Agenda]