Seventeen Greek and international productions, covering all genres of art, make up the programme of this year’s 57th Dimitria, as presented today (21/09) during a press conference by the Mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas and the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Tourism Maria Karagianni.

In the framework of the Dimitria Festival, which starts on October 1 and ends on October 20, the famous and award-winning director Thomas Ostermeier, the writer Edouard Louis, who is currently considered one of the most important young writers in the world, will be in Thessaloniki, while a special moment will be the theatrical production of the also award-winning English director Peter Brook, who passed away in July 2022.

“We are keeping what we had announced in 2019 with a concise and substantial programme, within a shorter period of time, with substantial events in all areas of culture and art”, said the Mayor of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Zervas, while the Deputy Mayor of Culture and Tourism Maria Karagianni described the Dimitria Festival as “creative, diverse, open and rich”.

Theatre on a bus

This year’s innovations include the “Luna” performance on the move. “For a few days the city is getting another bus line, only this time it is a ‘festival’ line and not an urban line,” the Mayor of Thessaloniki said schematically.

This bus will be in circulation on the streets of Thessaloniki, starting from Vafopouleio and ending at Mavili Square. Passenfers will hear the story of Luna, a poor Jewish seamstress who returned to her hometown after the occupation camps. The material is drawn from Rika Benveniste’s award-winning historical biography essay of the same title.

The theatre on the bus is not the only original production of this year’s Dimitria. For the first time, the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki is collaborating with a famous Greek rapper, 12th Monkey.

The Oscar-winning Depla in Thessaloniki

This year’s Demetria Festival will close with a concert by the two-time Oscar-winning film music composer Alexandre Desplat, who will conduct the KOTH in a programme of his own compositions. This concert is the result of a collaboration between the Municipality, the Thessaloniki State Orchestra and the Thessaloniki Concert Hall. The Mayor of Thessaloniki revealed that he has promised to do a tribute to Smyrna, since his mother is Greek, who came from Smyrna to Volos and then to Faliro, after the Asia Minor Catastrophe.

Mr.Zervas made special reference to the cooperation between the Municipality of Thessaloniki and the State Theatre of Northern Greece, in the framework of which two major foreign productions will be hosted in the city. “Partnerships bear fruit and this is the only way we manage to host big names of the world theatre scene and not only”, said the Mayor of Thessaloniki. Yanna Karymbali – Tsiptsiou, the president of the KTHVE, spoke of an “essential partnership”, while the artistic director of the KTHVE, Asteris Peltekis, also referred to the importance of synergies. “The future in the practical part of culture is the cooperation with other institutions”, observed the coordinator of the committee of artistic advisors of the 57th Dimitria Akis Sakellariou.

The Dimitria Festival is also collaborating with the Onassis Cultural Centre of the Onassis Foundation, with MoMus, with the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with the Contemporary Music Workshop of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City and with the Thessaloniki Short Film Festival, which will take place online.

The highlights of this year’s 57th edition include the performances:

“Who killed my father” (Qui a tué mon père)

A performance based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Edouard Louis, directed by Thomas Ostermeir, starring the author himself and produced by Schaubuhne Berlin and the Theatre de la Ville in Paris.

Co-production of the 57th Demetrias with KΘBE

Peter Brook “The Tempest project”

A theatrical production directed by award-winning English director Peter Brook, who passed away in July 2022, and Marie Helene Estienne.

Co-production of the 57th Demetrias with KTHVE

VISUAL INSTALLATION BY IRENE GHAZEL

Ghazel was born in Tehran, Iran in 1966. He has participated in many international biennials. Her works are in many public collections, including the Musée National d’ Art Modern, the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (Vienna) and the Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration (Paris).

Redbull Symphonic.

Recognized as one of the most pioneering artists of Greek hip-hop, 12th Monkey is one of the most beloved Greek rappers, an exponent of the concerns of a generation that has difficulty seeing its future.

The S.O.D.Th., under the musical direction of Michael Trachaliou, unites its sounds with hip-hop culture by presenting for the first time a different and original symphonic performance of the Greek rapper’s songs.

And one may wonder how these two worlds can be combined? How is it possible to interpret rap songs with the sounds of symphonic music?

“Rap by its very nature is structured so that it can be combined with different kinds of music,” the artist himself answers with absolute certainty.

With the support of Red Bull

In collaboration with the Thessaloniki Concert Hall Organisation

Alexandre Desplat Concert – Thessaloniki State Orchestra

For the first time in Thessaloniki, Alexandre Desplat will conduct the K.O.T.H. in a programme of his most beloved pieces, bringing the magic of film music to the audience.

Twice Oscar winner for the soundtracks of the films “Shape of Water” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and ten times Oscar nominee, he has already won Golden Globes, Grammy, Baftas, Cesar and many other awards. He is one of the most brilliant film music composers of his generation with many beloved soundtracks to his credit: “The Queen” by Stephen Frears, “The Ghost Writer” by Roman Polanski, “The King’s Speech” by Tom Hooper, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” by David Fincher, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by David Yates, ” Ides of March” by George Clooney, etc.

Co-production of the 57th Dimitria with the Thessaloniki State Orchestra and the Thessaloniki Concert Hall

The full programme of the festival 57th Dimitria