Marimilli Asimakopoulou, a director and creator with a deep artistic sensibility, brings her own version of Euripides’ classic tragedy, “Women of Troy“, to the stage of the Pantheon on October 19 at 9 pm, with a modern, raw and emotional showdown .
The women of Troy, instead of being presented simply as victims of war, take on a more weighty role – they are transformed into symbols of strength and endurance. In an era where violence and destruction remain sadly relevant, Marimilli Asimakopoulou’s performance invites us, through pelop.gr, to listen to the unspoken passion hidden behind silence and movement. And all this with the help of her partners, who, as she tells us, “are each a kind of “magician””
– Centuries later, the “Trojans” continue to shock with violence and destruction. What do you think will shock modern audiences the most in your adaptation?
Euripides’ inspiration for the play “Troades” came shortly after the destruction of Milos, when the Athenians, with inhuman violence, killed all the adult men of Milos and sold their women and children into slavery.
Marimilli Asimakopoulou
The inspiration for the “Women of Troy” came after so much gender-based violence against women by their partners in the post-Covid era. Women who sacrificed themselves in the name of freedom.
I don’t mean to shock. I long for an hour of dance-theatrical action on stage, to awaken the audience, to be moved. And maybe the next day in the “what are you doing?” that is to say, to listen with greater interest to the answer he will receive.
– Dancing in your own performance is not just decorative. Do you think that, through movement, you bring the viewer face to face with something they cannot ignore? What is his body “calling” to him that words dare not say?
The feeling is captured in words and becomes a poem. With silence comes action. Action has motion.
The charismatic creatures who take the stage, called to fight their inner anxiety in every situation, act as tragic figures to face it.
You find their psyche in a complete mess. Rage, for the decisions of the barbarians. Fear, of what comes next. Grief, for love that has nowhere to go, in a broken place that oozes pain. These women lose husbands, sons, fathers, brothers and dishonor awaits them themselves.
“Thrib” is the word for these women’s bodies.
– War is everywhere, and we see it every day. Do you think that, with your performance, you are “imposing” a new perspective on what it means to be a “victim”? Are the Trojan women victims or something more dangerous?
Life is daily struggles or battles. We decide whether we will win, depending on our passion and character. The women of Troy have nothing left to lose.
They are now slaves, to open and close doors, slaves to a mistress, secret partners of someone they hate. They don’t hope. And if something belongs to them, it is their soul’s homeland. So with the courage of creation, I lessened their fear and made them brave, so that they could stand free. I don’t mean physically. Proud, with a thundering voice and passion, Hecabe says: “No mother, Trojan or Greek, had sons like mine.”
– Despair and destruction can become extremely spectacular. What is your own goal: to cause pain, thought or a brutal confrontation with reality?
People who do the same job, we want to evoke feelings, to move, to give another side to things, to pose questions for thought. Behind all this creative part is our desire, as a spirit, to improve something.
– In a world where the winners write the history, you project the losers. Do you think the public is ready to hear their message or would they rather ignore the dark side of their victories?
My favorite hero has always been Hector. He knew he had no hope against Achilles but he came out of the walls to face him and die bravely.
The play closes with this phrase: “Whoever flaunts his happiness as something unsalable is a fool; like the madman, luck and happiness do not always stay with one.”
– We are talking about a performance full of silences, screams and physical tension. If the audience had to feel one thing at the end, what would you want it to be: disgust, introspection, or dare I say, embarrassment?
He who is brave is Free, says Euripides. That’s what I want her to feel.
– The interpretation of the body in a tragedy is powerful and dangerous. How did you push your actors and dancers to their limits without going overboard? Or did they have to pass?
Through research we are led to conclusions, doubts, questions, we discuss them, paint them, improvise them and keep everyone’s personality within the condition, which is happening in the now. None of us have such experiences fortunately, we imagine them and play games. We don’t exceed the limits, our recorded capabilities, yes.
Info
“Women of Troy”. Adaptation of Euripides’ play “Troades”
Arrangement-direction-choreography: Marimilli Asimakopoulou
Assistant Director: Nancy Christopoulou
Original Music Composition: Haris Peyazis
Lighting Design: Nikos Sotiropoulos
Costumes: Penny Kosmopoulou
Costume making: Niki Anjoulatou
Sound engineering: Nasos Filippopoulos
Art editing: Phaedra
Form Design: Erie
Photo: Eftychia Barlou
Production: ear Art Studio & MA School of Performing Arts
Production address: Vanessa Asimakopoulou
#victims #throbbing #voices
