OMBUDSWOMAN Iliana Nicolaou and the New Theatre Group are putting on a play to combat discrimination toward migrants, which has been growing in Cyprus in recent years due the “cultural upheaval.
The play, which was written by Andrea Koukkidou and directed by Fotos Fotiadis, premiers at 8.30pm on February 17 at the Pallas Theatre in Nicosia. Financial assistance for its production was provided by the European Union.
Titled “Allodapoi tsiai Topakes” or ‘Foreigners and Locals’ in English, the play is written and performed in the Greek Cypriot dialect.
It centres on a young Ukrainian woman named Tatiana who arrives in Cyprus to work as a housekeeper and earn enough money to support her ailing parents back home.
Tatiana is different from other migrants to Cyprus, the play tells theatre-goers, because as a teacher of ancient Greek in Ukraine, she communicates to other Cypriots in ancient Greek, and they to her in the Cypriot dialect. The play intends to demonstrate in a light-hearted fashion the types of day-to-day difficulties migrants encounter in Cyprus.
Nicolaou said her office was sensitive to the issue of discrimination toward migrants and so helped in bringing the play to fruition in order to raise awareness of the issue amongst Greek Cypriots. “The play will show us some things we need to do, and that these things are problems,” Nicolaou said.
The Ombudswoman’s office together with the Authority to Combat Racism and Discrimination wants to use the play as a means of bridging the distance between people of different nationalities in Cyprus. Their goal is to form a cohesive society.
In his introduction to the play Fotiadis addresses its inherent Cypriotness saying when the theatre “respects your country and the people of your country it places a mirror in front of society in a unique way.”
He goes on to say that they chose a comedic format for the play as a means to magnify the mirror’s effects by spotlighting the nature of human relationships, as well as to lighten the mood. “In laughing, we will become more comfortable in our thinking and we will be able to see the truth,” writes Fotiadis.
Allodapoi tsiai Topakes will run on February 17, 18 and 19 at Pallas Theatre and on February 26, 27 and 28 at Melina Merkouri Theatre. Both runs begin at 8.30pm.
