THE Cyprus Theatre Organisation’s (THOK) new showpiece is big, bright and shiny. It’s also more than two years late in opening, and still counting.
Certainly contemporary in design and viewed as comparable with its European counterparts, the Nicosia theatre has transformed the site of the old GSP stadium and will, when finally opened, provide Nicosia with a theatre it’s lacked since part of the old municipal theatre collapsed in 2008.
But why has it taken so long?
When the very first go-ahead was given for the erection of a contemporary, grandiose national theatre in Nicosia back in 2006, the estimation that it would be ready within three years seemed somewhat unrealistic. And as construction work didn’t actually begin until mid September 2009, it’s hardly surprising that the first deadline slipped away.
A new date for an official opening was then set for September 6, 2011 but that too came and went. Financial difficulties were cited as the main reason for the delays and the former director of the theatre – Varnavas Kyriazis – voiced strong hopes that the building would open its doors by January of this year. But the New Year came and went, and there was still no sign of any life. Meanwhile, the days were ticking away to July when Cyprus assumes the EU presidency, a period during which a functioning theatre might just come in handy.
Finally, this past week President Demetris Christofias was given a grand tour of the venue and the media were let in to view the completed venue’s swish interior. “I consider this to be a palace which every Cypriot man and woman can and should be proud of,” said Christofias, His visit, however, was not an inauguration, and again, the question was raised as to when the place will finally function.
Official confirmation now points towards the start of the autumn season. “THOK’s October production will mark the official opening of the theatre,” says THOK’s new director, Giorgos Papageorgiou. “Everything is totally ready and completed,” he adds.
The wait until autumn is necessary, he says, is because all the staff – who are now busy staging THOK productions in other theatres – need to be trained in using the new high tech equipment. “There’s contemporary sound equipment, computerised stage equipment, a whole new type of security system and the list goes on,” the director explains. “Training will take place between April and May. Then comes the summer theatre lull, but by the new autumn season we’ll be all set.”
The construction aspires to give new life to the performance activities of the island. In addition to the two state-of-the-art stages – with a 500 seat and 200 seat capacity respectively – it will also include offices, an exhibition area, foyer, bookshop, restaurant and a cafeteria. The project has been designed by Mimi and Charilaos Kythreotis and constructed by Miltiades Neophytou.
Although an official opening for the whole building is still pending, a small part of the impressive construction is currently being utilised to stage a play named Diaboliad by the Experimental Stage of THOK.
While it doesn’t at first seem to quite make sense as to how and why a small part of the building can be in use while the rest is still closed off, Papageorgiou is keen to explain the logistics.
“The whole structure was built in two phases,” he says. “Phase one was finished in the spring of 2011 and phase two has only just been completed in the middle of this March. So we thought we would utilise a small part of the space that was finished in phase one by presenting Diaboliad.” Rather innovative for local standards, the performance is site specific and uses both the interior and exterior spaces of the theatre, even making use of basement areas.
Plenty of unusual and contemporary plays will follow suit come October with a whole series of performances running for the last three months of the EU presidency.
Apart from theatrical performances, the new building will also be able to house educational theatre programmes, workshops and international conferences.
“We want people to know that Nicosia now has a new cultural quarter,” enthuses Papageorgiou. “It’s a gem in the centre of the city that people can be really proud of.”
