Mystery 13 E_FYGA Trilogy

Three different historical and georgraphical routes, two site-specific performances, I_LEFT Asia Minor at the area of Synoikismos of Upper Elefsina and I_LEFT PONTOS at the OASIS Former Campsite, as well as the multimedia installation I_LEFT at the Old Canteen, each one of them with its own legacy come alive together through first-person narrations.

Percecutions, refugee and forced relocations form the core of the trilogy, a result of artistic reasearch and creation in the city of Elefsina, started in 2014. The experiences of the participants in each performance are reshaped and presented through different artistic media. The trilogy distilles a century of refugee stories, from the Asia Minor refugees and the Pontians to today’s refugee and immigrants from Asia. Elefsina is the locus, the point of reception of the displaced, and the space where the audience partakes in a unique experience.

The performance I_LEFT Asia Minor (5 & 7 October) is a distinctive chronicle of the history of the Asia Minor refugees of Upper Elefsina, with their descentants as the protagonists. The bits of the narratives comprise the palimphset of the pefromance, guiding the audience in the shacks and alleyways of Synoikismos. There, a new version of the story is revealed and presented in the form of an event combing performing arts with fine arts and digital technology. The performance has already been presented five times and the occasion marks the final celebratory presentation in Elefsina.

I_LEFT Pontos (6 & 7 October) shines a light to a forgotten period of greek history. The narrations, unfolding with tearful eyes but also with humour, reflect on the cross-generational traume caused by the genocide of the people of Pontos, costing thousand of lives. The unpredictable mash-up of narration balances testimonies, memories and dreams and unravels under the big trees of OASIS former campite, at Upper Elefsina, a neighborhood built by the Pontians.

The trilogy is completed by the multimedia installation (4 to 15 October) presented by Yolanda Markopoulou and Station Athens theatre group. A new version of the performance I _LEFT which was presented in 2018 in the area of Synoikismos of Upper Elefsina and precipitated the research and the two performances that followed. Video material of the performance will be presented in an innovative multimedia installation featuring the actors of Station Athens group from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh: Chalil Alizada, Hossein Amiri, Ramzan Mohammad, Reza Mohammadi and Aidim Joymal.

I_LEFT Asia Minor

Concept & Direction: Yolanda Markopoulou
Dramaturgy: Ioanna Valsamidou
Collaboration in Dramaturgy: Thanos Tsakalidis
Video Design: Erato Tzavara & Yolanda Markopoulou
Music Composition: dorόs
Costume Design: Paris Mexis
Research: The Group
Technical Direction: Nikos Charalambidis
Production Direction: Vicky Strataki
Performance Photographs: Elina Giounanli
Production: POLYPLANITY Productions
Performers: Ifigeneia Karamitrou, Thanos Tsakalidis

Live Music: dorόs – Nikolas Angelopoulos (lute, lavta), Dimitris Brendas (clarinet, ney, kaval), Alexis Nonis (darbuka, bendir, stamna, cajon, kalimba), Nikos Skafidas (violin), Christos Syngelos (oud)

With the participation of the following members of the Asia Minor Association of Elefsina: Eleni Apostolou,Grigoris Asimakopoulos, Voula Gemela-Kalaskani, Georgia GIagtzoglou-Antoniadou, Marina Daskalou, Froso Karakitsou, Maria Lioura, Maritsa Michailou, Periklis Michailos, Aimilia Mpersi Kaiti Saritzioti, Vaso Sfika, Vaggelis Tsakiroglou, Evgenia Tsolaki
and the late Archondo Gemela-Marouga

With the support of the Eleusis Museum of Asia Minor and mind the fact.

Free admission : Thursday 5 ​October ​and ​Saturday 7 October 2023
​Start Time: 19.00
​Venue: History and Folklore Museum of the Asia Minor Association of Elefsina (Lampsakou 13 Elefsina)
Duration: 75 minutes, with English surtitles

I_LEFT Pontos

Concept – Direction: Yolanda Markopoulou
Research Collaborator – Community Coordinator: Constantina Georgiou
Video Design: Mavra Gidia & Yolanda Markopoulou
Technical and Lighting Design: Konstantina Evangelou, Vassilios Ntovros
Musical Supervision: Ilias Yfantidis
Sound Design: Manolis Manoussakis
Dance Instructor: Sofia Savvoulidou
Stage Manager: Ioanna Valsamidou
Photographer: Elina Giounanli
Technical Manager: Nikos Charalampidis
Translation / English Surtitles: Melissanthi Giannousi
Production Manager: Vicky Strataki
Executive Production: POLYPLANITY Productions
Participants (in alphabetical order):
Angela Adjamalidou, Yiannis Anthopoulos, Efstathia Athanasiadou, Anastasia Bayramidou, Spyridoula Dioleti, Paris Dioletis, Despina Efthymiadou, Maria Eliadi, Elias Fotiadis, Veronica Gregorian, Olga Ionidou, Maria Karakasidi, Nikos Kosmidis, Sofia Kosmidi-Pantelidi, Stella Kosmidi, Yorgos Lachanas, Margarita Louka, Nefeli Maria Christina Louka, Demosthenis Loukas, Margarita Pantelidi-Louka, Parthena Pantelidi, Christos Pantelidis, Konstantinos Pantelidis, Pavlos Pantelidis, Victoras Pantelidis, Philippos Parcharidis, Ourania Semertzidi, Zenovia Sidiropoulou, Yorgos Stefanidis, Anastasios Symeonidis, Haris Symeonidis, Valanto Thanopoulou, Ilias Yfantidis

With the support of the Pontian Association of Elefsina «New Trebizond» and mind the fact.

With the active participation of the «New Trebizond» Pontian Association of Elefsina.

A special thanks to Ms. Sofia Kosmidi, President of the Association, for her invaluable contributions to the research and organisation of the performance.

Dates: Friday 6 October and Saturday 7 October
Start time: 21.00
Venue: Oasis Former Campsite
Meeting point: Pontian Association of Elefsina «New Trebizond» (Εfkleidi and Filikis Etairias, 19200,
Elefsina)
Duration 75 minutes

I_LEFT Multimedia Installation

Concept- Creation: Yolanda Markopoulou
Artistic Direction of the Installation: Paris Mexis
Artistic Collaborator: Margarita Papadopoulou
Technical Coordinator: Nikos Charalambidis
Executive Production: POLYPLANITY Productions/ Vicky Strataki
With: Chalil Alizada, Hossein Amiri, Ramzan Mohammad, Reza Mohammadi, Aidim Joymal

Venue: Old Canteed at the beachfront

Visiting Hours: Wednesday 4/10 &Thursday 05/10, 17.00-21.00 | Friday 6/10 & Saturday 7/10, 17.00-23.00 | Wednesday 11/10 until5/10, 17.00-21.00

Opening: Friday 6/10 | 19.00

Presentation of all the I_LEFT Trilogy projects on the same day: Saturday 7/10

I_LEFT Asia Minor: Start on 19.00
I_LEFT Pontos: Start on 21.00
I_LEFT Multimedia Installation Opening Hours 17.00-23.00
** Audience Transport from I_LEFT Asia Minor (History and Folklore Museum of the Asia Minor Association of Elefsina) to I_LEFT Pontos (Pontian Association of Elefsina «New Trebizond») by 2023 Eleusis .