About the show
The first play presented by ΑΛΜΑ was "I Want a Country" by Andreas Flourakis, first presented in Brussels on 22, 23 and 24 June 2018 on the stage of the theatre 'De Lijsterbes'.
The show was selected to participate in the 8th Panhellenic Festival of Amateur Theatre of Ierapetra, among 30 nominations. Technical difficulties did not allow us to attend the Festival after all.
Eleven people with different paths, thoughts and dreams embark on a journey to a seemingly unknown destination revealing along the way their fears and agonies, while at the same time sharing their hopes for a better tomorrow. How far will they go in the end?
Part of the proceeds of the show were donated to the charity "Panos & Cressida – Help The Children", also known as Panos & Cressida 4Life.
From the very first moment this play was conceived, I was of the idea that the voice should be plural. The most archetypal plural voice is that of the Chorus in ancient Greek drama. In "I Want A Country" there is no central character, other than this group of people who are looking for a new homeland to live their lives with dignity.
The Chorus in the ancient drama either watches over the fate and actions of the protagonists, or decides on this very fate. Usually passivity and energy coexist within its actions and words. The Chorus cries, but also curses, it supports, but also devastates.
In my play, too, the individuals are both transmitters and receivers who dramatically convey a sensation of our chaotic present. Perhaps the difference with the ancient Chorus is that this eclectic group of people consists of charming selfish individuals, beneath whose feet, in the absence of a leader, the ground becomes even more shaky, uncertain and yet more liberating.
— Andreas Flourakis
On our first encounter with "I Want A Country", we fell in love not only with the text, which is so rich in meaning, but also with the almost infinite creative freedom that it offers. We consider it to be the ideal play for the beginning of ΑΛΜΑ theatre group.
In our version of "I Want A Country" there is one additional protagonist, next to the varied group of characters desperately seeking (are they really?) a new country: It is that very country, personified and symbolised in many ways… It's the country-Greece, telling us her story and falling apart in front of us… It's the country-homeland that keeps us tied to her… That slips away and disappears… That crushes us in her gears…
It is finally the ideal, dream country – as, in any case "We have to dream, otherwise we will die sleepless" – that appears shiny and enchanting, spreading hope for a fairy tale-like tomorrow… Could this hope be a utopia? Maybe this is of little importance… Since, as "I Want A Country" teaches us: "Even false hope gets the job done".
— Chrysa Baltzaki & Kyprianos Moutevelis
💛 Part of the proceeds of the show were donated to Panos & Cressida 4 Life — Βοήθεια στα παιδιά.
