14.05.22 – 10.06.22 Frankenstein: Lost Paradise, Onassis Stegi, Athens, GR
And the creator gave form to the monster. Lena Kitsopoulou brings Frankenstein and his monstrous creation to the stage, and ponders the price paid for creativity. Is the monster maybe me? Or is it you?
The Victorian myth of Frankenstein – the creator who gave form to a humanoid monster – brings Lena Kitsopoulou back to the Onassis Stegi stage. Romanticism and nihilism, eugenics and ruthless satire, all inspired by a story written in 1820 by the 19-year-old Mary Shelley – “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” – forever haunting world literature with the story of a doctor and anatomist who gathers human body parts, constructs a humanoid creature, and gives it life through the power of electricity. The young scientist Victor Frankenstein, like a new Prometheus, creates life out of death – and is relentlessly punished for his act.
And if you think that Mary Selley's novel was a source of inspiration for the Greek artist, the heroes of Frankenstein – The Lost Paradise, have a different view. Relentless satire, the humor of the '80s, youthful insults, and parents' sins. A loving family, a venomous spider, a funeral home, a pottery workshop, a sensitive young man who does not want to create any monsters…
With her new work of dramatic composition and direction, the writer, director, performer, visual artist, and Greek theater luminary Lena Kitsopoulou draws her source material from the world’s most celebrated horror story to talk about the monsters that arise in contemporary daily life. To talk about loneliness and narcissism; violence and infamous murderers; instigators and abettors seen as innocents; the lost paradise of youth; and above all, the nature of creation. All handled with unbridled irony, and performed by a fearless ensemble cast that carries us away to look the “monster” – each and every monster – right in the eye.