Verses of a play found wrapped around a mummy are being brought to the stage for the first time anywhere in the world. ELENA FYSENTZOU checks out THOC’s latest production
SOME would claim that weirder things have happened, but having an Egyptian mummy emerge as a messenger of peace is surely cutting it real close. Greek dramatist Aeschylus’ Trojan War Trilogy Achilleis — which talks about the necessity of peace — was lost when the Library of Alexandria is said to have burnt down in 48BC. Press ‘forward’ and some 2,000 years later the play has been revived after papyri inscribed with excerpts of the trilogy were found by archaeologists in the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy. Although some historians question the very existence of the Alexandria library, no one can deny that the play is indeed very real and a few days ago it premiered at the Blind School in Nicosia under the title Myrmidons-Nereids-Phrygians, having been staged by the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (THOC).
Dipped in the blackness of her theatrical costume, Jenny Gaitanopoulou (Thetis) resembles a Greek goddess of old times. “The story revolves around Achilles, the supposedly invincible warrior who was killed by Paris with a poisoned arrow at his only vulnerable spot, the heel. This performance is a very big event. It’s a tragedy that was found inside a mummy. Not the whole of it of course, only a few verses. The rest is from Homer’s Iliad, and it was put together by various researchers though the final adaptation is by Elias Malandris, with the help of Nicos Charalambous, the director of the play,” she explained.
So how does she feel about holding one of the leading roles in this impressive, large scale production, which includes a total of 45 actors? “It’s a great joy. Firstly because of who is taking part and, secondly, because this is a show that’s never been performed before. For us [actors] performing a tragedy is always a special occasion, but this one has generated an even greater sense of excitement as it is newly discovered. It’s been a great challenge for all of us.”
Not everyone was happy about the play being staged though. Some philologists reacted badly to the news on the grounds that this is not the whole play and therefore there shouldn’t be a theatrical performance based on it. “I think we live at a time where experiments need to be made, we need to try out new things. We need to put such comments aside. I think our show will end up having a quite a big impact on people,” said.
Gaitanopoulou has participated in more than 50 theatre productions and TV shows throughout her 42 year career but this the first time she has performed Thetis. “Thetis is a goddess, she’s Zeus’ daughter. She’s married to a human, Pileas, and Achilles who is a semi-god is her son. In this play, Thetis knows very well that her son Achilles will get killed in the Trojan War but her role is to tell him that he needs to go to war nonetheless to avenge his cousin Patroclus’ killing by Hector, as that is the will of the gods.” Gaitanopoulou pauses before adding: “Can you think of anything worse than having to bury your own child? And is there a more contemporary theme than that of not wanting your child to die? But because Thetis is a goddess and her son’s death is the gods’ will, she accepts it; she can’t do anything else but accept it. The gods of that time resemble our world leaders today. What happens in this play is also what happens in Iraq and what happened to us in Cyprus. That’s why tragedies such as this one are pure classics; it’s because they have contemporary themes that respond to today’s times.”
Gaitanopoulou first started in the theatre in 1962. “There was a real exchange of ideas back then,” she said. “All we talked about was theatre, even when we weren’t at the theatre.” Gaitanopoulou stressed that it’s important for an actor to live in an artistically fertile environment where a creative exchange of ideas can take place, though she confesses that this “very rarely happens” anymore. “It’s very limited in Cyprus nowadays,” she said.
During the interview it becomes evident that Gaitanopoulou’s charm derives from her simplicity and down-to-earth nature. Which must be why it doesn’t come as much of a surprise when she admits that she is uncomfortable with people’s description of her as ‘The Great Lady of Cyprus Theatre’: “I don’t accept it. I find it a bit naïve. Yes, there have been some good performances but every time you take part in something new, you have to test yourself again. You can’t take anything for granted, and even now after all these years of acting I still have the same anxiety before every show.”
Towards the end of last year she received THOC’s Life Contribution Arts Award but again she seems a little dumbfounded with all the commotion that surrounds her name. “I did not expect that at all and I think it’s more than I deserved,” she said.
“I’d like to thank the people who’ll read this interview and I hope they come to watch and enjoy our performance. Theatre is not just about playing a role it’s also about transmitting the writer’s messages to the audience. Without an audience, theatre is pointless.”
n Myrmidons-Nereids-Phrygians performed by THOC: July 14-16. Koureion Theatre, Limassol. July 21: Patticheion Municipal Amphitheatre, Larnaca. July 23: Municipal Amphitheatre, Derynia. All performances start at 9pm. Tickets are £8 and concessions at £5 (students, soldiers, retired). Tickets available from the box office of the Municipal Theatre, Nicosia (22-313010), the Blind School on the night of the performance (22-314507), the box office of the Limassol Patticheion Municipal Theatre (25-343341), the Koureion Theatre on the night of the performance, the box office of the Larnaca Patticheion Municipal Theatre and on the night of the performance (24-665795), the offices of the Derynia Municipality (23-811000) and at the Derynia Municipal Amphitheatre on the night of the performance. For more information please call on 22-492900. In Greek.
