THE SOIREE

The Soiree
by Elias Kapetanakis

Directed by Sofia Marathaki

Horos Theatre | Opens: Saturday 3 May

Elias Kapetanakis's The Soiree, a play that challenged theatrical conventions in the late nineteenth century, premieres on Saturday 3 May at the Horos Theatre, directed by Sophia Marathaki. It is a biting comedy of manners full of misunderstandings and dramatic twists, which explores the ways in which an entire society can become entrapped by formality, etiquette, and even language. A study of mores inspired by the social custom of families calling on one another, it speaks to the absurdity of the petty bourgeois world of the time, the lost kindness, but also the hidden violence.

The Neroulos family receive an unexpected visit from Mr and Mrs Stenos, accompanied by their bachelor nephew, Nikos. He hopes to make one of the Neroulos daughters his future bride, having admired them from afar on their promenades with other eligible young ladies of the town, and this is the perfect opportunity to get a closer look at them. However, hosts and guests are constantly at cross-purposes, the rules of good conduct are abandoned, and the evening is derailed, descending into comic chaos. The characters are mercilessly ridiculed as their ignorance, hypocrisy, absurdity and slavish deference to all things foreign come to the surface, along with the aping of polite behaviour, empty rhetoric, and faux respectability.

Written in 1894, The Soiree belongs to the tradition of popular one-act comedies that flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was staged in March of the same year by Dimitrios Kotopoulis at the Comedy Theatre.

The production is part of a series of Modern Greek Plays at the National Theatre of Greece this season.

Director: Sofia Marathaki
Dramaturgical advisor: Irene Moundraki
Set design: Konstantinos Zamanis
Costume design: Alexandra Delitheou
Music: Thodoris Abazis
Movement: Chrysiis Liatziviri
Lighting design: Christina Thanasoula
Directing assistant: Natassa Vlysidou
Set design assistant: Angeliki Papachatzaki
Costume design assistant: Elmina Neou

The cast (in alphabetical order): Eirini Boudali, Odysseia Bouga, Giannis Klinis, Giorgos Kritharas, Sofia Marathaki, Katerina Patsiani, Danai Saridaki, Christos Stathousis, Giorgos Syrmas, Roubini Vasilakopoulou