25.08.2025
YANNIS THE OX
21:00
PAROS PARK THEATRE AI YANNIS DETIS
Theatre
The moving and, at the same time, harsh story of “Yannis” comes to life again on Tuesday, August 25, 2025, at 21:00, at the Theater of the Park Aï-Yannis Detis.
“Yannis the Ox” is a play with a compelling plot and relentless pace. It features bold, distinctive, sarcastic, and cynical humor, offering a penetrating view into the human comedy hidden within life’s small tragedies. Written by Evangelia Gatsoti as part of the 3rd Outreach Project, under the guidance of playwright Vasilis Katsikonouris, the text emerged from real-life interview transcriptions, which became the raw material for a new and original dramaturgy. The aim is to redefine how local, often invisible, micro-histories are received, using fiction as the vehicle
The Play
A folklorist and a young woman anchor at a sleepy island port one hot afternoon, seeking to gather juicy fruit from the fertile fields of folk tradition. Their folkloric quest begins with interviews with locals—but the stories they uncover shatter their preconceived image of the rosy-cheeked, good-natured villager. As one revelation follows another, the protagonists are swept into a spiral of silence and complicity, leading them toward a painful yet cathartic resolution. The play seeks to bring to light the true story of a child—a story the collective memory of his community tried to erase.
Actors Filippos Kontoyiorgis, Thanasis Lysandropoulos, Stavria Nikolaou, and Grigoris Pantazis rotate through all roles, giving the impression of reliving the events of their lives in the four corners of a rural courtyard.
“Yannis the Ox” is published alongside three other contemporary Greek plays by Aparsis Editions. εκδόσεις Άπαρσις.
Author's Note
«"Digging into this story, I felt both the joy of discovery and the guilt of a grave-robber. In the end, what gives me relief and redemption is the sense of fulfilling a duty—to restore the memory of a person who had been forgotten."»
Director's Note
"My goal was to let the story be heard as clearly as possible. I wanted the audience to imagine the setting—the smells, the sounds, the images—on their own. I didn’t direct a period piece, but a true story told in the present tense, speaking directly to the here and now. At the same time, I tried to explore the characters’ psychology as authentically as possible, without anachronisms or reinterpretations. I was deeply concerned with how these people love, get hurt, express themselves, and think, without the media references that define 21st-century life. There’s a blurred line between ‘now’ and ‘then’ throughout the performance. Linear narrative disappears, and the audience can’t always tell when the events take place—Is it 2024? 1960? Is it night, noon, dawn, morning...? ‘Yannis the Ox’ is my second child. It’s the most important work I’ve brought to the stage so far. I’m incredibly lucky and grateful that Evangelia entrusted me with her work—and also lucky to have this powerful group of artists bringing it to life."
CREDITS
Text / Concept: Evangelia Gatsoti
Director: Panagiotis Liaropoulos
Set Design: Alkyoni Divari, Lia Mantouvalou
Costumes: Archontoula Tsatsoulaki
Live Music: Hydrama
Lighting Design: Semina Papalexandropoulou
Assistant Director: Anthia Moustaka-Kolyva
Photography – Trailer – Poster Artwork: Daniel Voreakos
CAST:
Filippos Kontoyiorgis, Thanasis Lysandropoulos, Stavria Nikolaou, Grigoris Pantazis
