Nicosia International Festival

17/9/26, 20:00 and 18/9/26, 20:00 & 23:00
Coffee-Bookshop «To Erma»

Advance ticket sales at more.com

Theatrical Reading

Direction and Artistic Supervision: Antigone Gyra

Performed by: Aliki Avdelopoulou – Dimitris Agoras

Kinitiras is travelling from Athens to Nicosia, following the invitation of the Nicosia International Festival to present the theatrical reading The Woman of Zakynthos and other eternal memories.

Written in 1826 during the Greek War of Independence, The Woman of Zakynthos remains one of the most significant and challenging works of modern Greek literature. Through the first-person narration of a monk, Dionysios Solomos creates the portrait of a woman who embodies malice, intolerance, and moral decay, directing her hatred toward the refugee women of Mesologi and the struggling nation fighting for its freedom. Nearly two centuries later, this unfinished work continues to resist definitive interpretation while speaking strikingly to our present, raising questions about power, violence, injustice, division, and the darker impulses of human nature.

Director and choreographer Antigone Gyra uses The Woman of Zakynthos as a point of departure, weaving together excerpts from The Free Besieged and The Poisoned Woman with contemporary voices, including personal memories from the creative team, texts by journalist Konstantinos Poulis, and original music by rapper Anser. The two performers embody the rhythm of Solomos’ language through movement, song, and constant shifts in character, inviting the audience into an experience where poetry, memory, storytelling, and the body come together.

Premiered in Athens as part of Kinitiras’ 30th anniversary programme, the performance was warmly received by audiences. We look forward to bringing it to Nicosia and to sharing with the Cypriot audience a performance that transforms the act of reading into a living theatrical experience, where Solomos’ words continue to resonate with the questions and realities of our own time.

“…and the dance went on until the noose was tied…”

PERFORMANCE IDENTITY

Director-Artistic Supervisor: Antigone Gyra
Performers: Aliki Avdelopoulou – Dimitris Agoras
Music Supervision: Aliki Avdelopoulou
Original Music: Anser
Eternal Memories/Text: Dimitra Zagora
The voice of Konstantinos Poulis, journalist for Press Project, is heard in his own text.
Assistant Director: Eleni Agora
Photography: Sakis Psarros, Fanis Pavlopoulos
Trailer: Stefanos Kosmidis
Communication: Giota Dimitriadi, Angeliki Pavlou
Social media: Gina Kyrousi
Graphic design: Nantia Argyropoulou-Eleni Gyra

NICOSIA INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL – FESTIVAL IDENTITY

Co-organisers: Nicosia For Art, Nicosia Municipality
Main Sponsor: Deputy Ministry of Culture, Department of Contemporary Culture
Gold Sponsors: VF Foundation, Allwyn
Silver Sponsor: PwC
Official Media Sponsor: Phileleftheros Media Group
Supporters: L’Oréal Paris, French Institute of Cyprus, The Classic Hotel, Ethimo
Partner: Press and Information Office
Hospitality Sponsors: Centrum Hotel, Altious Boutique Hotel
Official Festival Car: Pilakoutas Group
Exclusive Ticketing Partner: More.com

Where: To Erma, Ektoros 43, 1016 Nicosia, Cyprus
When: Thursday 17/9/26, 20:00 and Friday 18/9/26, 20:00 & 23:00
Duration: 65 minutes
Tickets: 20€

Advance ticket sales at more.com