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Published in June 2023, just days after the fatal Pylos sinking, Thanasis Triaridis’s “Know That What You Hear Is a Train Whistle” was first performed in spring 2024 at Studio Mavromichali (Mavromichali 134, Athens).
The show directed by Nikos Marnas and Giorgos Giokas, shortly after graduating from the Art Theatre, stole the show, with them together with Leonidas Bakalis and Nikos Stergiotis uniquely interpreting a dystopian universe that is in crisis.
Nikos Marnas spoke to us about the play, which returns to Studio Mavromichalis on October 3rd and will be performed every Thursday at 9pm.
You are introducing yourself to the theater audience with a play by Thanasis Triaridis that is taking to the stage for the first time. What fascinated you about this text and why did you choose it?
“Together with Nikos Stergiotis, we were looking for a play to stage as our first independent work in the theatre and ‘Whistling’ was the first play we read and chose immediately. When I read it, I was fascinated by the universe that Thanasis presents to us. This future condition, the roles with their particularities, this detective story that it has, captivated me. So my mind started trying to create this world as vividly as possible. I immediately started thinking about the roles, which actors could play, what the acting style would be, our costumes, the sound. In this way, I tried to solve this demanding puzzle, meeting Giorgos Giokas and the other collaborators along the way to make this story a reality. Of course, the fact that this project addresses a huge issue of our time, the repatriation of refugees, is also very important. This theme of the play touches us all.”
You act and direct – together with Giorgos Giokas – at the same time. Isn’t that quite demanding for a new artist?
“Acting and directing at the same time was demanding from the beginning, but also a big challenge. I always wanted to direct a show, to have the artistic responsibility for it, but at the same time it was difficult for me not to be part of it on stage. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a young actor and I want to be on stage as much as possible, or if I simply didn’t want to miss out on this experience. It’s definitely more responsibility to direct and act, it’s more exposure. My life is much easier with the help of Giorgos Giokas’ direction, to guide me when I play, as well as to fill in the gaps I have. In a way, we complement each other. Of course, Leonidas Bakalis and Nikos Stergiotis also helped me a lot, because with their trust and the environment we had, I was able to immerse myself in things like they did and create.”
The play examines a serious social issue. Do you think art can mobilize the public against such serious issues?
“Art reflects our world, is inspired by it and is in constant dialogue with it. The audience that sees a performance at the exact moment they see it becomes a co-creator with the director and the actors. I mean, I have some intention, to mobilize the world to raise awareness and seek repatriation of refugees, of course I don’t want to do it face to face by giving chewed food, that’s why we chose to tell a story whose theme is repatriation and through this story the world can travel and each person can be led to their destiny. This experiential nature of theater and the relationship that develops here and now has enormous power. Certainly both Thanasis and we shout about some things so that they become known in the way we know them. We do shows, Thanasis writes plays, someone else will do rescues, etc.”
There are also several doses of humor in your show. Was this a conscious choice by the director?
“The play itself has many humorous elements. Thanasis often uses humor in a very dark and ironic way. On the other hand, we also chose humor as a tool for a live performance. The theme of the show may be very serious, but in our lives, if we observe, there are many moments of laughter in the most difficult situations. In this way, there are changes in rhythm and conditions in the performance, managing to keep the audience engaged with laughter and at the right moment when they are “vulnerable” to give them even more strongly what we want. In general, we try to work with contrasts and create a “shaken” universe.
Last year’s series of performances was followed by discussions. Will they continue? What do the audience gain from them?
“The discussions we had last year after some shows will continue this year every Thursday with a guest. Through the discussion, the audience has the opportunity to discuss with us, with Thanasis and any guest we have in our company both about the show itself and about the issue of re-promotions and, by extension, the path of modern man as our show deals with these issues. This process has positive and negative points, as many of the people who came and stayed in the discussions made us understand last year. Some liked this process, they needed the next step to communicate more and for there to be a fermentation. On the other hand, there were also people who told us that this process is something guiding, as if they preferred to stay with the feeling of the show and not continue with a conversation that would take them somewhere else. Anyway, communication with the world is very important for us and for this is what we do with this show.”
Did you study acting at the Art Theatre? What led you to the field of theatre?
“I found myself in theater by chance, I had never dreamed of it when I was a child. I was studying pedagogy and wanted to change schools at some point because I didn’t feel like I fit in there, so I took the Panhellenic exams and went to the Department of Theater Studies in Athens. In fact, that’s where I got to know theater, I gradually fell in love with it and wanted to be an actor. I worked in many theaters as a janitor – stage technician and after finishing my Theater Studies I took the exams at the Art Theater where I graduated in 2022. It was difficult because when I was in the first year, Covid 19 entered our lives which upset us, but I will always remember them with great affection, my classmates and my teachers, because they shaped me theatrically. I learned a lot in those three years, while I also worked as a tutor at the Basement of the Art Theater and that’s how I was led to directing too.”
Are you equally fascinated by the field of cinema or television?
“For me, cinema is a great cult. I try to watch films all the time, at least once a day. I’m addicted to a projector I bought. I’d love to work in cinema. It’s a different, very charming universe. You tell a story like in theater, but the way it’s done is different. Maybe in the future I’ll study film directing, something very demanding and requires a lot of technical knowledge. And television, of course, interests me because as actors we have the possibility of working through different tools and, by extension, each medium is a way of communicating with the world. I’ve also tried dubbing, which was also challenging and revealing.”
Complete the sentence: “I became an actor because…”
“I became an actor because there was no other way.”
Future business plans
“My future plans are mainly related to theater, I am trying to work on texts that can be a continuation of this first directing effort with the aim of creating a core group of people to work with. I want to collaborate as an actor with other directors to continue learning things, enriching my toolbox and growing. There is nothing concrete at the moment.”
Coefficients
Text: Thanasis Triaridis
Director: Nikos Marnas – Giorgos Giokas
Sets – Costumes: Iro Pardavella
Music: Odysseas Tsouvalis
Lighting Design: Katerina Maria Saltaura
Photos – video: Filippos Memos
Actors: Giorgos Giokas, Nikos Marnas, Leonidas Bakalis, Nikos Stergiotis
Contact: Iota Dimitriadis
Production: SPEAK ART PRODUCTIONS AMKE
Information
Theater “Mavromichali Studio”
Mavromichali 134, Exarch of Naples
Tel. 210 6453330
Premiere: October 3, 2024
Presentation days: Every Thursday, at 9 pm.
Ticket prices: €12 (general admission)
Tickets: https://www.more.com/theater/sfyrigma-trenou/ and by telephone at the theater box office.
Duration: 70 minutes
