The farmer’s street market: the most genuine public space ritual par excellence. A liminal site that spells theatre more than the theatre itself. A space of exchange entirely predicated on human interaction—perhaps one of the last of its kind.
Though it may soon become a relic of the past, it is still here in all rude health. As vending machines occupy more space and the economy dictates the shape and form of products, the farmers’ street market fervently defends the right to live interaction, negotiation, trial, and the beauty of imperfection. Here, groceries and people do not look like flawless aesthetic products; they do not gleam under artificial light; they bear dents, swellings, and a rough feel; they smell of earth; they come in all colours, types, ages, and shapes.
The performance by actress and director Noemi Vasileiadou belonging to the new generation of Greek theatre, cobbles together a unique stage “agora” that is assembled, dismantled, and distorted before our eyes, inviting us to wonder: Do today’s art products bear wrinkles and the marks of time or are they sleek, standardised goods? Can the “folk” element earn a place in contemporary theatre in purely artistic terms and without descending into kitsch associations? How critical is the human factor in the final product, and what space of representation is left for imperfection? On what terms do we “sell” and “buy” art? Political and social questions give way to tips on picking the best potato of them all, gaudy jokes turn into street philosophies, a crate of prunes seeks a buyer, and a troupe haggles over its own imperfect existence. Pitted prunes is a requiem for the last remnants of a soon-to-be bygone era, a reflection on production and consumption, but, above all, a performance that insists on growing from the soil—seeds and all.
Concept—Direction: Noemi Vasileiadou
Dramaturgy: Noemi Vasileiadou, Haris Serdari
Movement: Alexandros Nouskas Varelas
Set & costume design: Daphne Aidoni
Sound design & music composition: Vasilis Zlatanos
Live music performance—Music composition: Christos Papadopoulos
Lighting design: Eliza Alexandropoulou
Production: Trochies Theatre Company
Assistant to the director: Athina Papadaki
Cast: Vasiliki Dialyna, Maria Filini, Vasilis Karaboulas, Nikolas Maragopoulos, Christos Papadopoulos, Haris Serdari, Thanasis Zeritis
Language Greek (with English surtitles)
As part of the Athens - Epidaurus Festival 2025.
