An overwhelmingly beautiful atmosphere surrounds the two performers, two artists from different generations. Perhaps they're the sentinel of a world of darkness and a visitor that disturbs his existence. Perhaps they are father and son and represent youth and maturity. Or perhaps, one dressed and the other naked, they are an image of civilisation and the noble savage. You’ll have to decide for yourself over the course of a show in which the encounter between the human and the irrational unfolds amidst transparent plastic panels that capture and imprison artists, and under a constant barrage of rain. It is against the backdrop of this basic and ancestral element, water, that the sometimes hostile interactions between the characters take place and that they ultimately find a way to coexist and even play and discover each other. A setting with artistic references, full of allusions to horror and sci-fi films, but also to poetry, accompanies a fascinating, dense piece with significant components from contemporary mythology and that fills the audience’s line of vision with the powerful images that are Papaioannou ’s trademark.
It’s a unique opportunity to revive a show created originally in 2020 that hadn’t yet been seen in Barcelona. Papaioannou presented his work at the Grec Festival for the first time in 2017 (The Great Tamer). In 2020 he was working on a new show, Transverse Orientation, but had to interrupt rehearsals due to the pandemic. During the interruption, he created the first version of INK, as a commissioned "carte blanche" of Torinodanza Festival and I Teatri Reggio Emilia. The company finally presented Transverse Orientation in Barcelona (Grec 2021) and, the one year later, created a new version of INK for a world tour, in which Papaioannou (24 and 25 July) shares his leading role with acclaimed Greek actor Haris Fragoulis (26 July), in a double cast.
The first version of INK was commissioned and co-produced by Torinodanza Festival / Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale + Fondazione I Teatri / Festival Aperto – Reggio Emilia in 2020.
The final version of the work and the international tour is co-produced by Biennale de la Danse de Lyon 2023, Sadler’s Wells London, MEGARON – THE ATHENS CONCERT HALL and supported by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports in 2023.
Dimitris Papaioannou is Artist in Residence at MEGARON – THE ATHENS CONCERT HALL.
We especially thank Teodor Currentzis for conducting the music of INK and offering it to us as a gift. Special thanks to Dimitris Korres for his continuous and genius technical support.
Concept, direction, sets, costumes, lights: Dimitris Papaioannou. Dressed man: Dimitris Papaioannou (24 and 25 July) / Haris Fragoulis (26 July). Nude man: Šuka Horn. Music: Kornilios Selamsis. Sound design: David Blouin. Lighting design: Lucien Laborderie, Stephanos Droussiotis. Creative and executive producer and assistant director: Tina Papanikolaou. Associate director: Haris Fragoulis. Performers’ physical training: Šuka Horn. Photographs and cinematography: Julian Mommert. Music recorded by: Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna orchestra. The name of the play was given by: Aggelos Mendis. The octopuses were created by: Nectarios Dionysatos. Visual design associate: Evangelos Xenodochidis. International relations, communications manager and tour programmer: Julian Mommert. Technical director: Manolis Vitsaxakis. Stage manager and sound engineer: David Blouin. Props master – stage manager: Tzela Christopoulou. Lighting programmer: Lucien Laborderie. Stage technician and rigger: Aggelos Katsolias. Executive production: 2WORKS in collaboration with POLYPLANITY PRODUCTIONS. Executive production associate: Vicky Strataki. Executive production assistant: Kali Kavvatha.
