11.08.2025
THE BACKGAMMON
21:00
PAROS PARK THEATRE AI YANNIS DETIS
Theatre
The historic play "The Backgammon " by Dimitris Kechaidis,Τ one of the most significant Greek playwrights of the post-war period, returns for a third season after its successful 2024 summer tour across Greece and sold-out performances at “Apo Michanis Theatre” during the 2024–2025 season! The production will be presented on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 21:00, on the stage of the Theater of the Park Aï-Giannis Detis.
" The Backgammon " is a play with a brilliant plot and a devilishly fast pace. It features sharp, sarcastic, and cynical humor. At its core, it offers a penetrating look at the comedy of human nature hidden in everyday tragedies.
Written and first performed in 1972, during the Greek dictatorship, at the Theatro Technis under the direction of Karolos Koun, it has since become a landmark of modern Greek drama. A pioneering work of bold satire and wit, "To Tavli" has been staged countless times to great acclaim. Kechaidis’s realistic writing reveals and reflects the very essence of the modern Greek: his condition, his dreams, his craftiness—and his amoral pragmatism. His “immoral morality” leads him to sacrifice anything—relationships, people, logic, ethics, even love—for the pursuit of money and the desperate desire to escape personal and social dead ends. Even the much-celebrated Greek “filotimo” (sense of honor) becomes a white flag thrown into the game of dice.
Kechaidis’s characters do not deceive life—they deceive themselves, holding up mirrors in which they play all versions of Portes, Plakoto, and Fevga (Greek backgammon variations). Not to show us who we are, but who we must not become.
The characters are colourful, street-smart “hustlers,” who, despite their flaws, somehow earn our sympathy within a gritty, post-war urban setting. The bitter truths exposed by the playwright leave gentle smiles on the faces of the audience.
A Few Words About the Plot
Fontas (Antonis Krompas) and Kolias (Alexandros Rigas), two friends and brothers-in-law, wake from their afternoon nap and perform their daily ritual: coffee, a championship round of backgammon, and brainstorming the next big business idea that will make them rich and important. Fontas, an idle dreamer of quick wealth, constantly produces “million-dollar” ideas. Kolias, a lottery ticket seller and self-proclaimed former resistance fighter, resists the schemes—until Fontas wins him over with visions of greatness. These are two authentic, working-class, and entirely recognizable characters who tolerate and exploit one another. As their conversation escalates, social façades fall and truths are spoken—truths that sting and provoke reflection. They soon resume their scheming, unified once more, plotting voyages abroad and exploitative ventures. Fueled by delusion, they aim to become great men—while marching steadily toward becoming insignificant monsters.
CREDITS
Text: Dimitris Kechaidis
Direction: Alexandros Rigas
Set Design: Lia Asvesta
Director of Photography: Alekos Anastasiou
Costume Design: Eleni Bletsa
Music Supervision: Alexandros Rigas
Photography: Haris Germanidis
Graphic Design: GridFox Team – Giannis Stivanakis
Assistant Director: Dimitris Topalidis
Production Manager: Giorgos Samartzis
CAST
Alexandros Rigas – Kolias Pagouropoulos
Antonis Krompas – Fontas Kalafatidis
