This season, the historic Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun is letting the “light burst in” revealing memories, contradictions, and contemporary issues that concern us, while also opening up an original dialogue with the audience.
The 2025–26 repertoire bridges classic works and contemporary voices, mythology and today, individual stories and collective experience, while also launching the “Athens World Theatre Capital” program, a collaboration between the Municipality of Athens and the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun, which brings new institutions of theatrical creation and interconnection to the city and transforms the theatrical stage into a place of encounter, learning, dialogue, and collaboration.
These are the main themes of the theatrical season:
- “Greek Light” with Greek texts inspired by history, mythology, and contemporary reality (The Drama of Democracy, Tank-All Night Here, The Third Crown, All the Time in the World, IRЯINA, Penelopes and Penelopeades, I Am Here)
- Classic works “illuminated differently” through new directorial interpretations (Germa – Lorca, The Locandiera – Goldoni, A Master Builder – Ibsen.
- Two performances “in the light of Chekhov,” inspired by his characters (VANYA – inspired by Vanya from Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and IRЯINA – inspired by Irina from Chekhov’s Three Sisters.
- Contemporary dramaturgy that looks our “dark” world straight in the eye (24 hours in a world that does not belong to us, Testimony of a stolen adolescence – Le Consentement, I am here)
- “Emphasis” on gender issues, where classic and newer texts discuss the body, social stereotypes, equality (The Third Crown, IRЯINA, Penelopes and Penelope-like Women, Germa-The Unfulfilled, Testimony of a Stolen Adolescence-Le Consentement, The Locandiera)
- Actions within the framework of “Athens World Theatre Capital” that open public dialogues and invite the audience to actively participate in the theatrical process. (The Drama of Democracy, Penelopes and Penelopeades, 24 Hours in a World That Does Not Belong to Us, Testimony of a Stolen Adolescence-Le Consentement, I Am Here)
- Performances with contemporary themes for children and teenagers (Mr. Vromilos, TANK / All Night Here, I Am Here)
Full schedule of events:
OCTOBER 2025
3-4-5,10-11-12/10: THE DRAMA OF DEMOCRACY | Underground
Dramaturgy-Directed By: Μarianna Kalmpari
Cast: Kleon Antoniou (music), Renia Kritikou, Menelaos Kyparissis, Dimitris Manginas, Angelos Bouras, Marilena Moschou, Anna Morogianni, Giorgos Tzanakos, Marilena Drikou.
“Let’s assume that democracy is a theatrical stage, on which we all have the right to perform. All we need is the desire to perform…”
Following its premiere at the Kolonos Festival of the Municipality of Athens, the stage composition that brings ancient texts into dialogue with the anxieties of modern democracy is presented at the Underground. With live music and active audience participation, the theater becomes a public “marketplace” of ideas where laws, leadership, and conscience are put to the test.
More Information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/παιζονται/670-το-δράμα-της-δημοκρατίας
16/10 : VANYA (Simon Stephens) inspired by Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya | Basement| Directed by Alexandros Raptotasios.
Cast: Yorgos Karamichos
Co-production Lykofos/Giorgos Lykardopoulos – Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun “People should immediately do what they really want to do.”
Chekhov through Stephens’ dramaturgy, naked and direct.
The contemporary “Vanya” that speaks of the ravages of time, desire, and second chances, for a second year at the Underground, following last season’s great success.
More information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/ερχονται/681-vanya
17/10: THE THIRD WREATH, Kostas Tachtsis | Frynichou
Adaptation: Stratis Paschalis
Director: Stathis Livathinos
Cast (in alphabetical order): Vasilis Andreou, Antonis Giannakos, Giorgos Dampasis, Vasilis Zafeiropoulos, Nikos Kardonis, Stathis Koikas, Andreas Lambropoulos, Paris Leontios, Anna Magou, Lilly Meleme, Polyxeni Papakonstantinou, Erato Pissi, Maria Savvidou, Virginia Tamparopoulou, Aris Troupakis.
Co-production Lykofos/Yorgos Lykardopoulos – Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun
“If I said I was happy with my life, I would be lying.”
Kostas Tachtsis’ iconic novel is adapted into a multi-character epic by Stathis Livathinos’ regular team, collaborating with the Art Theater for the first time.
Nina and Hecuba: two women who survive in a male-dominated society, breaking the norms of the time and foreshadowing what is to come. Fifteen performers traverse the 20th century through the story of Nina and Hecuba, from the Balkan Wars and the Occupation to the December riots, reflecting a Greece that changes over time but always remains the same.
The Third Wreath, an immortal narrative, reflects a familiar Greece, inviting us to boldly see our reflection in its heroes…
More information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/ερχονται/673-το-τρίτο-στεφάνι
27/10: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD | Frynichou
Written and directed by: Danae Epithymiadi
Starring: Danae Epithymiadi, Giannis Karaoulis
Co-production Théâtre de La Colline- Goen Productions- Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun
“You always have your eyes closed. I think you do it on purpose. If you open them, we’ll probably have something to talk about. I think that if I could throw you into the sea, you would become a fish.”
A deeply personal story of memory, mourning, and reconciliation that premiered to great acclaim in January 2024 at the Théâtre de la Colline in Paris, under the artistic direction of Wajdi Mouawad, with whom Danae Epithymiadou collaborated on “The Oath of Europe” (Epidaurus Festival 2025). The text also distinguished itself at the Mythos 2022 international theater competition, while its film adaptation won the Iris Award for best student short film in the same year.
More information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/ερχονται/672-όλος-ο-χρόνος-του-κόσμου
27/10: IRЯINA | Basement
A work inspired by Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”
Concept, dramaturgy, and direction: Giota Argyropoulou
Cast: Aurora Marion, Marianthi Pantelopoulou, Natalia Swift
Co-production: Kavala Municipal Regional Theater (premiere Thursday, October 9) – Blindspot theater group – Karolos Koun Art Theater
Research for the performance was supported by Onassis AiR – International Artist Residency and Research Program of the Onassis Foundation
“My name is Irina Sergeyevna. My DNA contains 10% nostalgia, 30% unfinished future, 20% thirst for dance, and 40% desire for something that burns but has no name yet.”
Chekhov’s work is fragmented and reassembled through the personal and collective stories of the women on stage.
Three actresses create different versions of Irina, which converge on a common question: what is “Moscow” for women today?
More information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/ερχονται/680-irяina
NOVEMBER 2025
21/11: PENELOPES AND PENELOPIADES -Part A- Creation of a performance| Basement
Conception-coordination: Marianna Kalmpari
With the support and auspices of the Ministry of Culture
” Slaughter them with your sharp swords, until none of them
remains alive; so that they may forget forever the pleasures of Aphrodite, those secret embraces, lying with their suitors. ” (The Odyssey)
An original open workshop-performance based on the Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s “Penelopiad.” Women of all ages, on and off stage, artists and non-artists alike, will meet and share personal narratives about eternal female role models and the timeless control of female sexuality. The process will feed into the final text of the performance, which will be presented in February.
With different guests each day.
DECEMBER 2025
19/12: GERMA-The Unfulfilled, Federico García Lorca | Basement
Dramaturgy: Giannos Perlegas, Maria Protopappa
Direction: Maria Protopappa
Performers (in alphabetical order): Nondas Damopoulos, Giannos Perlegas, Maria Protopappa, and others
Co-production: Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun – Kart Productions.
“The love that boils inside us and is not offered remains in the blood and rots it.”
Maria Protopappa returns to the Underground Theater and Federico García Lorca with “Germa.” Thirty-three years after Mimi Kougioumtzis’ legendary staging of the play, Lorca’s shockingly topical heroine comes to life again on the same stage, through the new directorial vision of Maria Protopappa, who in her own way deals with the agonizing search for motherhood, the oppression of social conventions, and the price of desire.
The performance is dedicated to the memory of Mimi Kougioumtzi.
More information:
https://www.more.com/gr-el/tickets/theater/germa-i-anekpliroti
January 2026
13/1/26: Testimony of a stolen adolescence – Le Consentement (based on Vanessa Springora’s Le Consentement) | Underground
Directed by: Irini Lambrinopoulou.
Co-production: Technechoros – Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun – AMK Art Field
Cast (in alphabetical order): Kleon Grigoriadis, Marilena Bartalouchi, Venia Stamatia.
“Does art justify everything?”
“Le Consentement” is the personal account of publisher Vanessa Springora regarding the relationship she entered into as a 14-year-old minor with 52-year-old author Gabriel Matzneff, a prominent figure in French literature with strong political connections. The text ultimately led Matzneff before the French courts and triggered significant legislative reforms regarding the age of consent for sexual intercourse. It has been translated and presented for the first time for the theater in Greece, with the central dramatic question being: is everything permissible in art?
29/1/26: The Locandiera, Carlo Goldoni | Frynichou
Direction-dramaturgy: Giannis Kakleas.
Music: Dimitris Papadimitriou.
Co-production: Hellenic Project-Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun
Cast (in alphabetical order): Maira Gravani, Veronica Davaki, Alexandros Zouridakis, Vasia Lakoumenta, Dinos Pontikopoulos, Ivan Svitailo.
“I like to laugh at the funny antics of the lovesick lovers; and I want to use all my artistry to crush those barbaric, hard hearts that are hostile to us, who are the best and most beautiful thing that Mother Nature has given to the world.”
La Locandiera is a classic work that humorously, intelligently, and accurately describes how a woman in another era fought for space, voice, and security within a system that remains unequal to this day.
Yannis Kakleas and Dimitris Papadimitriou return to the Art Theater to bring to life, in their own way, a musical version of Goldoni’s comedy, staging a light-hearted but sharp game of power and desire.
FEBRUARY 2026
11/02/26: 24 HOURS IN A WORLD THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO US | Underground
Text composition: Pantelis Flatsousis and the team
Dramaturgy: Panagiota Konstantinakou
Directed by: Pantelis Flatsousis.
Performed by: Saba Hosseini, Liza Mikropoulou, Katerina Synapidou
Co-production Spectrum AMKE-Theaterhaus Jena -Karolos Koun Art Theater
An important international co-production that brings together three cultural institutions from Greece and Germany in a creative dialogue, highlighting the role of theater as a place of artistic and social encounter.
The performance draws inspiration from Mathieu Kassovitz’s iconic film La Haine (1995) and explores issues of inequality, urban marginalization, violence, social exclusion, and masculinity in Europe and the world today. Three young female actors and a multicultural troupe embark on a quest for art and the world in the third decade of the 21st century. Minute by minute, they expose the course of their research and compose a stage diary for a documentary that has not yet been filmed.
Two directors, Pantelis Flatsousis in Greece and Daniele Szeredy in Germany, create their own versions inspired by “Hatred.” The German performance will be presented in May in Frunich.
16/2/26: PENELOPES AND PENELOPIADS – Part Two – The Performance | Frynichou
Dramaturgy-Direction: Marianna Kalbari
A play based on the Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad, as well as material drawn from personal accounts by women on and off stage about female sexuality and female role models as imposed on us since ancient times. (November – Underground).
With a cast consisting of female actors, young students of the Drama School, and non-professionals.
With the support and auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
APRIL 2026
16/4/26: A MASTER BUILDER, Henrik Ibsen| Basement
Translation: Marios Ploritis
Directed by Konstantinos Aspiotis.
Starring Theodoros Grampsas, Katia Dandoulaki, Ania Lebedenko, Thrasos Stathopoulos, and others.
Co-production by G.I.D.S. – PRAXI EPTA Theater Company – Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun.
A journey into the depths of the human soul, where creation, glory, and downfall meet. A psychological drama that explores the limits of creation, man’s need to dream, and the price of living “dangerously high.” Master Builder Solnes, this deeply human classic masterpiece, comes to the Underground Theater in a production that brings Katia Dandoulaki back to the Art Theater, in her first collaboration with Theodoros Grampsas on stage and Konstantinos Aspiotis as director.
MAY 2026
Hass / Μίσος / Ură based on the cult movie by Mathieu Kassovitz| Frynichou
The German version of the play, inspired by Kasovitz’s “Hate,” as part of a collaboration with Theaterhaus Jena and SPRECTRUM AMKE.
Theatre concept, stage director: Daniele Szeredy
Concept, dramaturgy: Josef Bäcker
More Information:
https://www.theaterhaus-jena.de/en/program/plays/current-season/hass-misos-ura
KIDS’ STAGE
12/10
MISTER VROMILOS, David Walliams
Adapted by: Andri Theodotou
Directed by: Dimitris Degaitis
Cast: Ousik Hanikian, Natalia Dimou, Giannis Zaragalis, Katerina Mefsout, Athina Ananiadi, Angelos Angelopoulos, Giannis Michailidis.
Co-production Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun-Theatrical Productions Gerasimos Skafidas
“A story that will make you see the world, not just with different eyes,
but with a more open heart!”
Andri Theodotou and Dimitris Degaitis return to the Frynichou Children’s Stage with a contemporary play that speaks of kindness, forgiveness, acceptance of diversity, and second chances, with the author’s characteristic humor. A performance that reveals the unsurpassed power of solidarity, kindness, and all the small acts that can bring about enormous changes in all our lives.
More information:
https://theatro-technis.gr/ερχονται/664-ο-κυριοσ-βρομυλοσ-παιδική-σκηνή
TEENS’ STAGE
28/9
TANK / “All Night Here” (school matinee and anniversary performance on the anniversary of the Polytechnic)
Dramaturgy by the RMS MATAROA group based on the book All Night Here (ed. Jason Chandrinos)
Directed by: Manos Vavadakis
Cast: Katerina Zisoudi, Irini Makri, Katerina Papandreou, Manos Vavadakis
The award-winning performance, after its moving reception, returns for a third year! A theatrical testimony that sheds light on historical truth and awakens consciences around freedom and democracy. A linear, almost “minute-by-minute” reconstruction of the events at the Polytechnic through oral testimonies and archival material.
2024 Performing Arts Award from EL.E.K.TH.E.P.T.E.
https://theatro-technis.gr/παιζονται/676-τανκ-όλη-νύχτα-εδώ-2025
15/3/26
I AM HERE (work in progress)
Text: Dimitris Ntaskas
Directed By: Sofia Vgenopoulou
Cast: Odysseas Petrakis, Konstantinos Siozos, Marianthi Koskina
Co-production Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun-Grasshopper Group
“I don’t know how people see me. Does anyone know? Do you know? Those who come to talk to me are awkward. I make them nervous. They see me and they get nervous. Then they pretend they don’t see me. Maybe they really don’t see me. Sometimes I think maybe it’s better if they don’t see me. So I can have some peace and quiet.
So I do everything I can to make sure they don’t see me. Even though I’m here.”
Open rehearsals-discussions with schools and the public, based on the creation of a new work based on real testimonies of teenagers and adults outside formal schooling: voices struggling with invisibility, violence, and exclusion, seeking ways to escape.
A performance-call for understanding, where cracks become dialogue and transformation remains an open possibility.
ATHENS, THE WORLD CAPITAL OF THEATRE – the framework that unites us
Starting this season, the Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun, in strategic collaboration with the Municipality of Athens, is launching the initiative “Athens, World Capital of Theater”: a three-year program that, beyond the new institutions it brings to creators and the city (Small New Dionysia and Great New Dionysia), “revisits” theater as a space for democracy, dialogue, knowledge, and experience.
The initiative organically incorporates the performances “The Drama of Democracy” and “Penelopes and Penelopeades,” which are created specifically to open up discussions and encourage citizen participation and co-creation.
At the same time, the performances ” Consent – Testimony of a Stolen Adolescence,” “24 Hours in a World That Does Not Belong to Us,” and the adolescent action “I Am Here” give us the opportunity for open discussions with special guests and the audience on the important social issues they raise.
At the same time, the Basement stage will welcome a small group of spectators throughout the year, through the original action “Medea reloaded,” which will be presented in both English (Ancient Drama Acting Experience “Medea Reloaded”) and Greek (Experiential experience of ancient drama acting “Medea Reloaded”). This is a lively introduction to Euripides’ “Medea,” ancient drama, and the history of the Art Theater itself, culminating in the opportunity for the group to get a taste of rehearsing as the Chorus of “Medea.” The experience will be presented in English from Saturday, October 11, and every Saturday at 12:00 p.m. in the Basement.
More information about ATHENS, WORLD THEATRE CAPITAL:
At the same time, the “Youth Conservatory” and “Friends Conservatory” will be operating for the third year, as well as new workshops for educators under the direction of Andri Theodotou.
All educational programs will be announced in October.
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