One of the theatrical masterworks of the Cretan Renaissance, Chortatsis’ Katsourbos belongs to the tradition of commedia erudita—a branch of comedy addressed to scholarly audiences—while also borrowing many features from the comedy typology of the more mature and improvisational commedia dell'arte. Α fascinating riddle of the Renaissance era, Katsourbos hides, beneath the surface of a light-hearted comedy, an anguished portrayal of the bourgeois class of Renaissance Heraklion at the close of the 16th century. Heroes seem to teeter between the safety of their social and financial status and the uncertainty of the historical momentum; the end of an era, marked by the collapse of Venetian rule, is right around the corner.
The fifteen-syllable rhyming meter, the formal plot structure, the theatrical conventions, the characters of comedia, the aesthetical lineage of Cretan Theatre—all these elements make the stage treatment of this classical work, one that is rarely performed on Greek stages, a highly compelling affair.
Giannos Perlegas assembles a pocket ensemble of actors to break away from the shackles of traditional representation, seeking to establish a conversation between the text and the language of dancers and acrobats. On an aesthetic level, the set and costume design nod to the Renaissance era and, at the same time, subtly subvert it, while the play’s soundscape “teases” Monteverdi’s madrigals and Cretan musical tradition with a contemporary angle.
Direction: Giannos Perlegas
Movement—Direction associate: Christina Sougioultzi
Set & costume design: Angelos Mendis
Music: “Chainis” Dimitris Apostolakis, Kleon Antoniou
Lighting design: Nikos Vlassopoulos
Cast: “Chainis” Dimitris Apostolakis, Anthi Efstratiadou, Lena Kitsopoulou, Katerina Lipiridou, Giannos Perlegas, Christos Sapountzis, Thodoris Skiftoulis, Christina Sougioultzi
Production coordination—Executive producer: Delta Pi
Language Greek (with English surtitles)
English surtitles: Menelaos Karantzas
As part of the Athens - Epidaurus Festival 2025.
