17 March 2020

Χρύσιππος / Chrysippus
By Dimitris Dimitriadis - Directed by Thanos Samaras
- Directed — Thanos Samaras
- Photography — Nikos Pandazaras

Following his masterly production of Dimitris Dimitriadis’ Cassandra’s Annunciation, well-received by audiences and critics alike, Thanos Samaras stages yet another provocative work penned by the internationally acclaimed author. This occasion marks the stage premiere of Chrysippus.
The play is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Chrysippus, a dashingly handsome youth, son of Pelops and the nymph Axioche, who was kidnapped by his tutor, Laius, after the latter fell madly in love with him. Dimitriadis’ Chrysippus personifies love in its purest form, beyond any idealization. In the playwright’s own words: “Chrysippus is the onstage manifestation of an encounter that is fatal for human condition: the encounter with absolute beauty.”
Set in a contemporary bourgeois home, the myth, in this modern version, casts a harsh yet also revealing light on the morbid aspects of our closest, most intimate familial bonds, particularly the mother-son relationship, laying bare all stereotypes and social conventions. Beyond its socially subversive dimension and its evident psychoanalytic qualities, the play makes us contemplate the very nature of love, irrespective of roles and genders. Thanos Samaras states the following: “We do not fall in love with other people; we fall in love with that aspect of theirs that we ourselves lack. The object of love is immortality through love.”
CREDITS
Directing – Movement – Set design – Costume design – Lighting design – Sound design – Animation: Thanos Samaras
Cast in order of appearance: Rania Oikonomidou, Michael Tampakakis, Nikolas Michas, Thanasis Dovris, Sofia Kokkali, Giannis Siamsiaris, Angeliki Stellatou