ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2009
THE EVENT
with variety of shows
os per person.
r more Karagiozis, head to the
assis Spyropoulos Shadow
ter in Galatsi (Lambrinis & 9 Er-
el 210.262.9046), where there is
erent performance every Sunday
0 p.m. as well as an exhibition
figures and sets from the shad-
heater. Tickets cost just 4 euros.
puppet that got away, much in
adition of Pinocchio, is the sto-
Pulcinella at Morfes Ekfrasis (13
maras,’ the story of a
ened little boy, is based on a
by Georgios Vizyinos.
minis, Kato Petralona, tel
46.4903/4002), where a young
onette cuts his strings and runs
live in the forest, em-
ng on the strangest
ntures he has ever
nd meeting the odd-
haracters he could
magine. Every Satur-
t 5 p.m., there is mu-
nging and dancing to
rate Pulcinella’s new
Tickets cost 12 euros
dults and juniors, and
ros for kids.
Two milk
cartons that
fell in love
while on the
supermarket
shelf are
reunited at
the recycling
plant, at the
Theatro tou
Iliou in Plaka.
Georgios Vizyinos, the 19th-century
Greek writer of some of the country’s
favorite children’s tales, provided
the inspiration for the “Tromaras”
puppet theater play at the Kivotos
Mython Theater (12 Anapafseos, Mets,
tel 210.921.6346; admission costs11
euros), where the children in the au-
dience help a young boy who is
afraid of his own shadow overcome
all his fears.
The story “Donkeyskin” by the fa-
ther of the fairy tale, 17th-centu-
ry French writer Charles Perrault,
provided the inspiration for
“Gaidouro,” on at the Studio
Mavromichali (134 Mavromichali,
Neapoli, tel 210.6453.330). In this
educational tale, a spoiled young
princess demands that her father
make her a present of the hide of
the donkey that has been provid-
ing the kingdom with an abun-
dance of gold that promises them
centuries of prosperity. Punished
for her greed, the pretty young
princess becomes an ugly creature
to whom no one wants to talk, un-
til she decides to make up for her nasty
behavior. The play is on every Satur-
day at 5.30 p.m., while tickets for this
performance, which includes actors,
puppets, music and dance, cost 10 eu-
ros.
WEEKEND PROGRAM
UNIMA Hellas, the Greek branch of the
nongovernmental international association
of puppeteers, is organizing a series of
events celebrating World Puppetry Day,
from March 20-22.
Friday & Saturday
Grown-ups get creative
The Puppet Center (28 Vassileos
Constantinou, Aghioi Anargyroi) runs
workshops for adults on Friday from
5-9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
For reservations, call 210.832.6357.
Teaching tools
Stathis Markopoulos discusses the use of
puppets as a teaching tool on Friday from
4-6.30 p.m. and Saturday from 5.30-9.30
p.m. at the Association of Theatrologists
(25 Koumoundourou, central Athens). For
reservations, call 210.832.6357.
More for kids
Anna Santorineou teaches children aged 6
and up how to make puppets from crepe
paper on Friday
from 5
to 7 p.m. On
Saturday, Voula
Kourou shows
children of all
ages how to
creatively
recycle
materials, from
11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Both at the Theatro tis
Kouklas (34 Psaroudaki, Kato Patissia). For
reservations, call 210.832.3714.
The poetic aspect
Evi Gerocosta discusses the history of
poetry in puppet theater in two workshops
for adults on Friday and Saturday from
6.30-9 p.m. at the Kokomouklo Theater
(30-32 Megistis, Kallithea). For
reservations, call 210.953.2236.
Saturday
Bringing paper to life
The Kentro Varous group teaches children
how to make puppets from paper at
Nosotros (66 Themistocleous, Exarchia)
from 4-6 p.m. For reservations, call
6974.078.538.
Open house
The Prassein Aloga puppet theater
company (60 Voulgaroktonon, Exarchia)
opens its doors to parents and kids and
shows them around their displays of hand-
crafted puppets from 3-4 p.m. For
reservations, call 6932.628.305.
Workshops for youngsters
The Paramythohora Theater (14
Anapafseos, Mets) has invited the Kivotos
Mython troupe to teach children of all ages
how to make their own marionettes
from 6.30-8 p.m. For reservations,
call 210.921.6346.
Sunday
Grand parade
Members of UNIMA will take their puppets
to the Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian
street and show off their skills, at 2 p.m.
There will also be an open workshop.
Karagiozis: Neither
here nor there
BY SOULTANA KALLIGAS
Google the word “Karagiozis” and you
will get about 50,000 hits; change the
spelling slightly to “Karagoz” and
the hits multiply by 40. The history be-
hind the shadow theater hero is a mat-
ter of debate; some say he was a Greek
jester in the sultan’s court, while oth-
ers claim he was a man of Turkic de-
scent in 14th-century Bursa, a multi-
cultural city in the Byzantine Empire.
Though it seems he is generally per-
ceived as hailing from Turkey, this
popular form of entertainment is
more or less the same in both coun-
tries.
Karagiozis, or Karagoz (meaning
“black eye” in Turkish) is the main
character of the same-named shadow
puppet play, made popular during the
Ottoman period and part of the folk-
lore of both Greece and Turkey. The
play’s main theme is the contrast be-
tween the illiterate but street-smart
public, embodied by Karagiozis, and
the higher, educated classes, person-
ified by characters such as Hadjiavatis,
a flatterer of the powerful who has a
way with words, Sior Dionysios (aka
Nionios), a Zakynthian of imagined
aristocratic stock, the Vizier and oth-
er colorful characters. The play always
ends with Karagiozis having somehow
fooled the establishment, but never
better off than he was before.
The Turkish version of the origins
of Karagiozis has been successfully car-
ried over to the silver screen with
2006’s “Hacivat Karagoz neden oldu-
rudu?” (Who Killed the Shadows?).
When Hacivat, a sharp messenger, wit-
nesses the public’s reaction to the
tragicomic monologue of Karagoz, an
illiterate nomad, crying over his dying
cow, he decides to take advantage of
the opportunity and sets out to con-
vince Karagoz that they should form
a street show to make money. The pen-
niless nomad turns out to be wittier
than expected and soon the duo are
humorously criticizing the authorities,
amassing both popularity and ene-
mies. When their satire becomes too
entangled in the local power struc-
tures, though, Karagoz and Hacivat are
beheaded; their legend, however,
was to live on through the perform-
ance of plays using camel hide as pup-
pets.
The Greek version of
Karagiozis, the main form
of entertainment for
the masses for cen-
turies, always starts
with a dance se-
quence between
Karagiozis and his
three sons. “Yiassou,
family!” he tells his
sons enthusiastically,
bouncing around be-
hind the screen. “Yi-
assou, Daddy!” cheers
one of the boys. “Yias-
sou, husband of my
mother!” cheers an-
EVGENIOS
SPATHARIS
One of the most famous Greek
Karagiozis-players is the still-
performing, award-winning
Evgenios Spatharis. Son of a
Karagiozis player, he first began
drawing scenery, but started
performing during the German
occupation in World War II. He
recorded over 15 plays on vinyl
and, in 1980, joined the world of
television as well, broadcasting
weekly on state TV. As a result,
there is probably not a living
person in Greece who has not
heard of him. Spatharis’s life
work, which is now a part of
Greece’s cultural heritage, is
celebrated at the museum he
established in 1995 where
meticulously collected Karagiozis
memorabilia, from the 1860s to
his own creations (puppets,
scenery, lighting materials,
musical instruments and special
effects) are on display. A
documentary in English will also
be available for non-Greek
speakers.
Spathario Museum (Vas. Sofias
& Dimitriou Ralli, Kastalias Sq,
Maroussi, tel 210.612.7245,
www.karagiozismuseum.gr). Open
Mondays-Fridays 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.,
Wednesdays 6-8 p.m.
other. “Yiassou, son of my grand-
mother!” calls out the third. Later in
the show, when an adult asks one of
Karagiozis’s sons where his father is,
he answers in a heavy, village accent,
“My dad’s gone ice-skating” – which
is not only a lie, it is blatant sarcasm.
And this is exactly where the appeal
of Karagiozis lies: in his
refusal to take serious-
ly anyone who per-
ceives himself as
serious.
I often remem-
ber my father’s
usual response to
anyone who asked
about his plans for
the near future:
“We’ll eat, we’ll
drink and we’ll go
to bed on empty
stomachs,” he
would say in typ-
ical Karagiozis
style.
25