“The two structural, nuclear, existential, cosmogonic components are separated by a vertical line and become text through Dimitris Dimitriadis. And somewhere there, in between, enters the dynamic, beautiful artistic gaze of Aliki Stenou, and Memory/Oblivion is transferred, offered as an antidoron—a form of spiritual nourishment. […] Aliki Stenou employs Logos in every one of its expressions and forms in order to render, on stage, the meaning and essence of the poetic, philosophical text. […] Memory–Oblivion–Human is passed on to the performers Antonia Mathioulaki, Athina Maria Pavli, and to the director herself (as the third performer). Along with the fourth presence—that of the musicians—this revelatory discourse of inner strength is presented. […] Throughout the 60 minutes of the performance, the universal experience carried and transmitted by the text is conveyed intact, essentially, and with restraint.” (Alexandros Stergiopoulos, gazzetta.gr)

“In the foyer of the Piraeus Municipal Theatre, every action is born from the text. Dimitriadis’s language has been fully understood, absorbed, and embodied in its absolute form. Every leap of association is justified. Every movement originates from it. A restrained space, the lucid articulation of a simple, archetypal proposition. A pure ritual of catharsis. None of the materials of the performance are unfamiliar—yet none of their uses are known or predictable in advance. Clarity of movement and gesture, and sharp articulation, shape a widely traveled endeavor that seems to grow more mature with each new stop. Nothing superfluous. A clear journey from the pages of memory to the nakedness of oblivion. […] A lyrical, poetic work about barbarity and the Human.” (Konstantinos Avramis, palcoscenico.gr)

Costumes: Mary Limniou

Lighting Design: Thomas Oikonomakos

Assistant to the director: Athina Maria Pavli, Marie Walker

Photographs: Jagoda Czekała

Trailer and photos of promotion: Ioannis Konstantinidis

Communication: Chrysa Matsagkani

Production: Non Linear Non Profit Civil Law Company

Performers (in alphabetical order): Antonia Mathioulaki, Athina Maria Pavli, Aliki Stenou Musicians on stage: Chara Greka (cello) | Nikos Touliatos (percussion)

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

Memory and Oblivion is a theatre project based on the texts Mneme (Memory) and Lethe (Oblivion) by Dimitris Dimitriadis. Through torrential language, the intensephysicality of the performers and the powerful presence of live music (cello and percussion), the project explores the relationship between Humanity and Time, our connection to History, and the elements we choose either to remember or to forget. Using the body as the primary vehicle, it investigates the boundaries between verbal and non-verbal expression, between the conscious and the unconscious. In the spacewhere speech, movement, and music intersect, a liminal terrain is created—where everything holds the potential to begin anew or to end. On one side, we hear Memory rising as a force that enables humans to relive their lives, allowing moments to be repeated endlessly within the mind. On the other, Oblivion—ever present in the shadow of memory—unfolds as a redemptive void of thought, a pure dominion of the body, bearing its own silent remembrance. Two forces that clash and yet converge, speaking together of Humanity’s relationship with love, faith, war, life and death, across the passage of time.

"My body. Is all history. Wars. Eras. Upheavals. I don't need to remember. Because I have a body, I forget."

REVIEWS

“The two structural, nuclear, existential, cosmogonic components are separated by a vertical line and become text through Dimitris Dimitriadis. And somewhere there, in between, enters the dynamic, beautiful artistic gaze of Aliki Stenou, and Memory/Oblivion is transferred, offered as an antidoron—a form of spiritual nourishment. […] Aliki Stenou employs Logos in every one of its expressions and forms in order to render, on stage, the meaning and essence of the poetic, philosophical text. […] Memory–Oblivion–Human is passed on to the performers Antonia Mathioulaki, Athina Maria Pavli, and to the director herself (as the third performer). Along with the fourth presence—that of the musicians—this revelatory discourse of inner strength is presented. […] Throughout the 60 minutes of the performance, the universal experience carried and transmitted by the text is conveyed intact, essentially, and with restraint.” (Alexandros Stergiopoulos, gazzetta.gr)

“In the foyer of the Piraeus Municipal Theatre, every action is born from the text. Dimitriadis’s language has been fully understood, absorbed, and embodied in its absolute form. Every leap of association is justified. Every movement originates from it. A restrained space, the lucid articulation of a simple, archetypal proposition. A pure ritual of catharsis. None of the materials of the performance are unfamiliar—yet none of their uses are known or predictable in advance. Clarity of movement and gesture, and sharp articulation, shape a widely traveled endeavor that seems to grow more mature with each new stop. Nothing superfluous. A clear journey from the pages of memory to the nakedness of oblivion. […] A lyrical, poetic work about barbarity and the Human.” (Konstantinos Avramis, palcoscenico.gr)