Mariza Kapsampeli©
When did Percy Shelley’s “The Chechens” first fall into your hands?
I first read Chenchi at the age of nineteen, a drama student, and it seemed to me a great and very special work. As the years went by, I realized that his way of writing, his poetic intellect, was etched in my mind, comparable to a Sophocles, a Shakespeare. The unique play written by the romantic poet Shelley has always somehow clicked with my temperament.
It seems like the perfect time for “The Chenchi” to come up at a time when we are bombarded with hard news every day, not only because it involves a story of abuse, but also because it talks about power, the oligarchy of the law and self-righteousness. Why is this story more relevant to us today?
It’s about everything you mentioned and more. It connects a reality that is very recognizable to us with the deepest psyche of man, the concepts of good and evil – how much can one ever be pure from the other -, but also with the philosophical stake of the concepts of justice and freedom. Man and his emotional world becomes a landscape, a natural phenomenon, where very broad concepts fight over it, reaching as far as the search for the concept of faith. The work is the opposite of the newsreel, while at the same time it affects us so directly, as if the story happened next to us, in an apartment in Athens today.
Mariza Kapsampeli©
What does an “evil but necessary act” mean to you?
I also wondered this during the rehearsal, as this phrase is in the mouth of one of the characters in the play. Asking the question to the group, we came to the conclusion that it means an act that destroys or commits an offense, to save something that we define as more important or primary. E.g. when you have a case of Siamese, to save even one life you may have to sacrifice one. There are situations where moral dilemmas arise, where in order to save someone you have to wrong or harm someone else. In the play, a parricide occurs, but the heroine perceives it as an act of protecting both her personal freedom and the innocents who are in danger from her ruthless father. Will Beatrice, the abused parricide daughter, take us with her, or will we resist her by proceeding to condemn her?
“Love is contagious, it creates an osmosis that releases our best powers.”
What shocked you the most about discovering the real story of the Chenchi?
How the tender indulgence of those in power can lead them to callousness, moral rigidity, to be blind and deaf to the indecency of a tyrant, to not use their power to stop him. They don’t care about trampled children, about suffering innocents. But finance has its limits, and at some point public opinion manages to rise up and demand redress on behalf of the wronged.
© Mariza Kapsampeli
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What is your message for International Women’s Day on March 8?
Woman is half of the world, quantitatively, qualitatively, morally, creatively, and that is exactly how she should be treated. Not to hide her nature, her psyche, by disguising herself as something else, e.g. to a “more woman” or a faceless machine. To highlight her nature, without insecurity, without hesitation, because the power of her mind and feeling is pioneering and irreplaceable. And if the law, both written and unwritten, promotes this, our society will improve dramatically.
Do you have a common language of communication with Giannis Dalianis regarding the creation of the shows and your views on art? What is the philosophy of the Zero Gravity team?
Zero Gravity was created precisely because of a shared artistic quest. We deal with important texts, creating an open and flexible group of actors and contributors. Within the group, a common theatrical code is developed, with common denominators, despite any differences, ultimately aiming to produce a model of theatrical creation, original and at the same time classical, experimental and at the same time natural and effective.
© Mariza Kapsampeli
“The more a woman tries not to renounce her feminine side in directing, the harder it becomes. But when you have the right partners with you and you are able to inspire them in one direction, it becomes wonderful. You are not the power, you are the bearer of the power. of your idea. And that should be a guide for male directors as well.”
What gives you the reason each time to decide to direct a show?
The artist simultaneously listens to the becoming of reality around him and to the poetic becoming within him, where the past and the present ferment by removing and condensing. At some point, therefore, a need or a desire is strengthened that clicks with a project, so to speak. The choice is not unambiguous, but there is a moment when you say “yes, this is it and I don’t want anything else right now” Like a love story.
Does a female artist still face situations of inequality, considering the role of the director? What is your experience?
There is what you say, yes. And the more a woman tries not to renounce her feminine side by directing, the more difficult it becomes. Like you have to overcome a prejudice, even an unspoken one. But I think it is done wonderfully, when you have the right partners with you and you are able to inspire them in one direction. You are not the power, you are the bearer of the power of your idea. And this should be a guide for male directors as well.
© Mariza Kapsampeli
Do you think that the audience loved your heroine in “Samos” because you loved her too? What do you think is the reason for the success of the series?
To your first question, I will answer yes. Love is contagious, it creates an osmosis that releases our best powers. As for the success, it is multifactorial, the core of the story in terms of scripts, the choice of actors, the physical spaces, the moment it came to Greek television. But it is always something more, that if we could identify it, we would make great successes more often.
Can an actor’s career be boosted by being part of a TV series (especially for the younger generation)?
Of course. Or to limit him. It depends on how he does it, how much and what content he has as an actor, as a culture, as an exercise, as a motivation to create. Quantity and quality, we would say more simply.
Yannis Dalianis, Eliza Skolidis, Eleni Zarafidou, Christos Papadopoulos, Dimitris Kollios, George Korombilis, Panagos Ioakeim are playing.
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The work of Shelley, this important poet, representative of 19th century British Romanticism, is a rare work. It remains indelibly in the memory. His poetic writing, full of meanings, the subtle psychographic of the heroes, the philosophical search for concepts such as justice and freedom, the limits of morality, through a dynamic plot, make the work unique. Its material a true story of abuse and parricide, which took place in a well-known aristocratic family of Rome in the 1600s, the Cenci family. The ruthless Francesco Cenci removes from his path any obstacle that comes between him and his plans. Crime is not a problem for him, and the absolution he buys from papal power with his wealth also secures him earthly impunity. When he goes to extremes, causing the death of his sons and the rape of his daughter Beatrice, his support from power shifts, and at the same time his daughter decides on parricide. A trial will take place, where not only people and actions are judged, but also the symbols of good and evil, just and unjust.
Iroon Polytechnic University & Vas. Georgiou
Iroon Polytechnic University & Vas. Georgiou
Iroon Polytechnic University & Vas. Georgiou