Spectators

by Marios Pontikas

KENTRIKI (PLAGIA) SKINI

The play is set in two adjacent rooms in a run-down hotel.  In the first, a wretched woman who can no longer face the tragedy of her existence, murders her social-outcast husband and then commits suicide. In the second, the neighbour, an unemployed voyeur, watches the events unfold through a hole in the wall but does nothing to stop them. He then dispassionately describes what he has seen to his lover. The couple cruelly dissect the deaths of their neighbours while remaining unaware of their own tragic alienation.

Written more than forty years ago, the work’s clear, acerbic eye gives it an explosive power that makes it highly topical in today’s society of estrangement, emotional cruelty and political apathy. Skilfully managing the interplay of characters, the writer makes a harsh criticism of the psychologically wounded individual who is either indifferent to the plight of his neighbour or is trapped into having to find a solution to his problems on his own, often making the most destructive of choices. Katerina Evangelatou, one of the younger generation of directors, expertly reveals this modern dynamic to the audience with the help of an intriguing cast and excellent production team.

First performance: 21/09/2013

Last performance: 13/10/2013