Chrysanthi Koumianaki
The Stage Is Empty: Part ΙΙ, 2021

The Kolonos district dates back to antiquity and is the birthplace of Sophocles. At the beginning of the 20th century it became associated with the industrialization of Greece, as factories were established and their workers settled there. For The Stage Is Empty: Part II, Koumianaki created at the Kolonos Theatre a performance and installation that manifested exclusively through light. The artist used light as a means of translation and rendition of dramaturgy, emotion, speech, expression and movement. The theatre stage remained seemingly empty yet a non-material performance took place on it. Viewers were invited to imagine it or invent a performance of their own by coming on stage. At the same time at certain spots on Kolonos Hill actors performed “in conversation”, interacting with the play on stage and with what is happening in the theatre’s immediate surroundings. By reversing inside and outside, as well as actions and roles, The Stage Is Empty creates a game; it shifts our perception and challenges the conventions that rule both our everyday routines and attendance at theatre performances.
The installation and performance The Stage Is Empty was commissioned by NEON for the exhibition Portals | Πύλη presented in 2021 at the Kolonos Theatre and Hill.

Text, slightly modified, by Galini Notti