The Theatre Company of Crete was the beginning, and this year, its evolution, the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Crete, completes half a century of life and celebrates with an anniversary, museum-level exhibition, under the title “Municipal and Regional Theatre of Crete – 50 Years of stage action- A Living Archive“, hosted at the Municipal Gallery of Chania. The exhibition is organized by the Municipality of Chania, the Municipal Gallery of Chania, the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Crete, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and in co-organization with the Region of Crete.

More than 700 exhibits – costumes and sets, models, drawings and sculptures, director’s and translation notes, posters, programmes, photographs, videos and audio documents – make up a visual installation of 129 productions from the rich archive of the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Crete. These form the core of the event, the curatorship of which was entrusted by the theatre’s Artistic Director, Efi Theodorou, to the international visual artist and Assistant Professor of the University of Patras, Antonis Volanakis.

The actors Aphrodite Londou, Tonia Manesis, Dimitra Tselios, Katia Litridou, Alkmeni Stavroulaki, Zoe Panagiotopoulou and (with the masks) Dimitris Kontogiannis, Dimitris Aronis, Nikos Kapsis, Thomas Kindynis, Akis Drakoulinakos, George Vertsonis, playing the roles of the young people in the theatrical production of the Theatre Company of Crete “Kouros”, directed by Michalis Bouchlis, set and costume design by George Anemogiannis, in the summer of 1977.

On the three floors of the Municipal Gallery of Chania, visitors will have the opportunity to tour the three main periods of the theatre organization:

a) 1974-1986, Theatre Company of Crete (ETHEK) – Semi-State Theatre of Crete – Municipal and Regional Theatre of Chania, Crete

β) 1986-2000, Municipal and Regional Theatre of Crete

γ) 2001-2024, 21st Century

The time progression, however, is not binding on the visitor’s path. On the contrary, the aim of the exhibition is to remind older people and to introduce younger people to this great theatrical organization and at the same time to create the conditions for the audience to approach unseen aspects of the preparation of a theatrical production. The routes will be many and varied, which will make the exhibition attractive for multiple visits. Indicatively some of the thematic routes are:

• The Cretan theatre (Vincenzo Kornaros, Georgios Hortatsis, etc.), to admire, among others, the costume worn by Alexis Minotis in the opening performance of the organization or those designed by Laloula Chrysikopoulou for Stathis, directed by Spyros Evaggelatos.
• International repertoire (Molière, Bertolt Brecht, etc.), in order to see, among others, a video of Raccina’s Phaedra at the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus.
• Contemporary Greek writing (Kazantzakis, Kitsopoulou, etc.), suggesting that they try on costumes from Captain Michael and read an enlarged manuscript of Campanellis.
• The ancient theatre (Aristophanes, Euripides, etc.), but also to enjoy the recording of Yannis Ritsos’ Ajax directed by Vassilis Papavasiliou at the Ancient Aptera Theatre and to see how a drawing by Antonis Kyriakoulis is translated into a costume worn by the actor.
• The music, having the opportunity to leaf through scores, for example by Christos Leontis.
• Women creators, with visual cues for “first time” on writing, directing, sound design, set design, costumes, lighting, etc.
• Original material from the theatre for children and the experimental stage, adult amateur groups.
• The creration of visitor’s own map with the evidence that attracts them the most.

Actors Vana Blazoudaki and Alexis Minotis, playing the roles of Isaac and Abraham respectively, in the theatrical production of the Theatre Company of Crete “The Sacrifice of Abraham”, directed by Alexis Minotis, set design by Cleovulus Cloni and costume design by Yannis Migadis, in the summer of 1974.

The main axis for the preparation and organization of the exhibition is the thorough research of the extensive archive of the Theatre, which Antonis Volanakis and his team have undertaken, in order to obtain the data that will allow both the uninitiated visitor and those with a special interest to find information presented in an accessible, attractive and at the same time fully documented manner.

Interaction is one of the main pillars of the exhibition’s design, in the context of which visitors will have the opportunity to try on theatrical costumes, be photographed in a stage sculpture and see the design drawings of the exhibition before its realisation.

The actors Christos Valvanidis, Maria Zacharias, Betty Valasi and Lefteris Tzooulakis (in the bus) advertise the theatrical production of the Semi-State Theatre of Crete – Theatre Company of Crete “O Katzourmpos”, directed by Kostis Michaelides and costume design by Yannis Kyrou, in the summer of 1980.

The event will be accompanied by a multi-page catalogue with a complete list of 50 years of performances, edited by Antonis Volanakis, which will be published by Kapa Editions.

ΙΝFO:

Duration: 15 February through 30 April 2025

Opening Night: 15 February , 19:30

Municipal Gallery of Chania

Chalidon 98-102

Tel: +30 2821 3 41680

Web: www.pinakothiki-chania.gr

Opening Hours:

Mondays  10.00-14.00

Tue through Saturday 10.00-14.00 & 18.00-21.00

Sundays 10.00-14.00