Alternative Stage Founding Donor
Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera
Following its world premiere at Comédie de Genève (January 2026), Anna Lemonaki's new work ner_una puta historia de AMOR, a theatre and dance performance about the end of love and its potential revival, debuts in Greece with the GNO Alternative Stage at the SNFCC, featuring three unique performances on 13, 14, and 15 March 2026. The work is a co-production between the GNO Alternative Stage and the Swish Theatre Company, Cie Bleu en Haut Bleu en Bas.
How can we revive love? How can we survive the fear of a global collapse? The new work, ner - a pun combining the Italian word for the colour black and the Greek word for water - is the fifth and final part of a chromatic pentalogy by Greek director Anna Lemonaki. The piece serves as a crossroads of languages, cultures, and artistic landscapes while blending personal storytelling with the collective power of fairs. Anna Lemonaki collaborates with author Julie Gilbert to cast away the impoverishment of our relationships and our broken connection to the environment. Immersing us into an endless night, neró seeks a way to uplift us against alienation and global deregulation.
Along the height of a towering vertical structure, representing the steep slope of a massive rock, performers, climbers, and musicians perform a choreography of tenderness and the unexpected: they hold each other, climb up, fly, fall down, catch one another, slide, kiss, and fall down all over again... The setting was inspired by Kokkinovrahos (meaning red rock) in Leonidio, in the Peloponnese. Along these hovering movements, the journals written by Julie Gilbert and Anna Lemonaki during their joint trips in Greece and Mexico, together with the fair's inebriation, create a lively ritual that aims to rekindle our desire to love and build community.
Synopsis
The collapse of romantic love.
Two Western women, aged 40 and 50.
Divorced.
One has two children, who have just moved out of the house.
The other doesn't have children. She can't have children. She can't find the right person to build a family with. She decides to freeze her eggs.
Society might say that both of them, having lost their fertility, no longer have a place in the arena of love and life itself. Both women wonder: Is the collapse of romantic love connected to environmental collapse? Or to the broader state of the world? Could it be that the rationalization of romantic relationships is related to the depletion of natural resources?
Through a journal fueled by the people and places Anna and Julie encountered over the past two years, the work explores how modern representations of romantic love in Western societies (associated with the pursuit of instant personal gratification, the classification of potential partners on dating apps, incessant notifications, and the imperative of efficiency) affect our ability to create a story where shared coexistence is possible. It also examines how, ultimately, collective strategies emerging from life's cracks - like traditional dances at fairs - can bring the idea of coexisting in a different way back to the foreground.
The work ner is a never-ending night, an everlasting, surreal night. Beautiful and harsh. It consists of three parts, or three acts:
- The first part features the dialogues from Anna and Julie's journal.
- The second act showcases the climbing choreography.
- The third act is the festive and musical part of a fair that takes place on stage.
The work neró_una puta historia de AMOR is a performance about the end of love and its potential revival; a performance without a clear ending, where we would like audience members to become a community and join the fair. It is a communism of dance. Because dance is a way to outsmart death.
neró: the crossing between fear and love
Following the works Bleu, Fuchsia Saignant, Blanc, and G.O.L.D, Anna Lemonaki completes her chromatic pentalogy with neró. The piece ner_una puta historia de AMOR is a journey that began more than a year ago, when the director invited author Julie Gilbert to join her. It is a journey that took them to Greece and Mexico, where they met climbers, love stories, springs, rivers, words, trees, and people with incredible destinies, thereby creating this small community that will be introduced to the audience and the GNO Alternative Stage. Neró - a performance featuring French, Greek, Spanish, English, and Italian - made its debut on 14 January 2026 at the Comédie de Genève, and then set out on a tour to Switzerland, Greece, and France.
Anna Lemonaki notes about the creation of her work: When I began thinking about this work, I wanted to explore the theme of collapse; I had envisioned a monologue about the loneliness of the modern individual as a starting point for the text- a monologue that would also explore no, this word and attitude created by humans that seems to fit them exclusively, as much as laughter. But what if we imagine the opposite for a moment: What if trees suddenly refused to give us shade on a hot summer day? What if they stopped producing oxygen altogether? And what if animals could also say no? What if they stopped reproducing? What if the sun and the moon said no? And what if day and night ceased to exist, and no longer alternated?
In ner_una puta historia de AMOR I seek this crossing between immobility and action, between fear and love. I seek what sets us in a collective motion. I seek how we can bring back, in an irrational and immeasurable way, love into our lives. I seek poetry.
Brief biographical notes
Adina Secretan
Works in Switzerland and internationally as a stage and multidisciplinary artist. Since 2012, she has pursued research that often addresses issues related to the right to the city, the right to space, and housing. Her projects frequently develop through collective collaboration and invitations to other artists as well as to people from diverse professional and social backgrounds. She also regularly works as a dramaturg and artistic collaborator for directors and choreographers. Her creations have been presented at such venues as Arsenic, Théâtre Sévelin 36, Festival Les Urbaines (Lausanne), Théâtre de l'Usine, SWISS DANCE DAYS (Geneva), ABC Cultural Center (La Chaux-de-Fonds), Festival far (Nyon), Gessnerallee, Helmhaus (Zurich) Dampzentrale (Bern), etc. She has taken part in various residency programmes in Switzerland, Athens, Marseille, Latvia, Brazil and Chile. She was an associated artist of far from 2017 to 2019.
Katerina Andreou
Born in Athens and based in France. A graduate of the Law School of Athens and the National School of Dance of Athens, she completed the ESSAIS programme at Centre national de danse contemporaine in Angers and holds a Master's degree in choreographic research from Université Paris 8. As a performer, she has notably collaborated with DD Dorvillier, Anne Lise Le Gac, Lenio Kaklea, Bryan Campbell, Dinis Machado, Emmanuelle Huynh, and Ana Rita Teodoro. In her own work, she develops a physical practice specific to each project and explores states of presence that emerge from a constant negotiation between contrasting or even contradictory tasks, fictions, or universes, often challenging notions of authority and censorship. She creates the sound environment for her pieces herself, which becomes her main dramaturgical tool. She received the Jardin d'Europe Prize at ImpulsTanz in 2016 for her solo A Kind of Fierce. She then created the solo BSTRD (2018), the duet Zeppelin Bend (2021) with Natali Mandila, the performance Rave to Lament (2021), and most recently the solo Mourn Baby Mourn (2022). She is an associated artist at the Centre chorégraphique national de Caen en Normandie for 2022-2024 and collaborates with the Master EXERCE programme at the Centre chorégraphique national de Montpellier.
Neda Loncarevic
After obtaining her Master of Arts in Literature from the Université de Genève, Neda developed an interest in stage design for live performance (theatre and dance) and later in exhibition design. She has worked for 25 years on stages in French-speaking Switzerland, Germany, and France. In theatre, her set designs have accompanied the creations of Muriel Imbach and La bocca della luna for 20 years (including Le grand pourquoi, Les Tactiques du tictac, Le Nom des choses), and for more than 12 years those of Nathalie Sandoz and Cie DeFacto (Le Moche, La Marquise d'O, La Visite de la vieille dame). In French-speaking Switzerland, she has also collaborated with Charles Joris (La Demande d'emploi), George Grbic (Les trois petits cochons), and Ariane Moret (Dangereuses). In France, she works alongside Frédéric Ozier at the Théâtre de la Temp?te, and in Germany she collaborates with Denise Carla Haas at the Theatre of Erlangen. More recently, she has created stage environments for Guillaumarc Froidevaux and Zuzanna Kakalikova of Cie TDU (L'Enfant et le monstre, Am I in the Picture, and Lilola with Gaetan Aubry), Nina Negri and Cie Alma Venus (Sous influence), Anna Lemonaki (Blanc, then Gold, a collective scenographic project with Fanny Courvoisier and Sylvie Kleiber), and Anne-Cécile Moser and Cie AC Moser (Lala et le cirque du vent). In dance, she met Jasmine Morand in 2012. Since then, her stage devices have accompanied Cie Prototype Statut in Switzerland and abroad. In 2024, Neda co-signed with Sylvie Kleiber the scenography of the performance Kantik by Perrine Valli and Cie Sam Hester. Since 2017, Neda has been working as a tutor and guest lecturer in scenography in the master's programme in theatre at La Manufacture.
Severin Besson
After obtaining a Federal VET Diploma (CFC) in dressmaking in Lausanne, she continued her training at the école Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Techniques du Théâtre (ENSATT) in Lyon, where she specialised in contemporary and historical costume. She then completed a postgraduate programme in Berlin and refined her expertise by assisting renowned costume designers at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and the Opernhaus Zürich. Since 2005, she has run a costume workshop in Geneva. She is involved in numerous theatre projects and collaborates regularly with Marion Duval and Aurélien Patouillard on Cécile, Patchinko, and Le Spectacle de merde. She also works with Kiyan Khoshoie (Wanabe), Adina Secretan (Une bonne histoire), Manon Krütli (Miss None, Jacqueline), and Marco Berrettini (I Feel 3, Jiddu). Since 2015, she has designed costumes for numerous opera and musical theatre productions alongside Julien Chavaz, notably The Importance of Being Earnest and Pelléas et Mélisande at the Nouvel Opéra Fribourg. She later accompanied him internationally for William Tell at the Irish National Opera as well as Alice im Wunderland and Salomé at the Theater Magdeburg. Oscillating between meticulous craftsmanship and a conceptual approach, she invests into each project with deep commitment.
Renato Campora
Born in Italy in 1976, he was trained in theatre techniques as a stage electrician and lighting designer. Increasingly interested in what was happening on stage, he enrolled in 2007 at the école de théâtre Serge Martin in Geneva, graduating in June 2010. As an actor, he has notably worked with Serge Martin on Rabelais - La Nuit (Théâtre de la Parfumerie, 2011), Cédric Dorier on Agamemnon (Théâtre du Grütli, 2010), George Guerreiro, Hélène Cattin, Camille Giacobino, and Olivier M?usli. As a technician and lighting designer, he has collaborated with Grand Théâtre de Genève, Festival de la Bâtie, Les ArTpenteurs, Il Ghiribizzo, La Balibaloo Compagnie, Théâtre écart, Cie Les Débiteurs, Perfusion imminente, among others. Since 2013, he has been the technical director of the Théâtre du Galpon in Geneva.
Nikos Tsolis
usician, composer, and performer based in Athens. In 2020, he graduated from the School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the National Technical University of Athens (equivalent to a M.Sc.). In 2023, he obtained a Master's degree in Digital Arts from the Athens School of Fine Arts. He has done the sound design for numerous dance, theatre, and film works presented at national and international festivals. His first solo album, Tsolimon - Akida, was released in January 2025 by Inner Ear. In 2019, he released the album Mésa mou Zei with the group Uncensored, of which he is the creative core.
Panayiotis Hristakos
Born in 1976 in Athens, Greece. After graduating in motor sciences and osteopathy from the University of Bologna, he specialised in the field of motor skills and movement. He then pursued further training to support people with disabilities at the sports centre of the same university. At the same time, he advanced his expertise in human movement methodology for adults and the elderly as well as in posturology applied to musculoskeletal disorders. Panayiotis is also a Level 2 rescue instructor and a psychomotricity instructor for children at the Centro Sportivo Italiano as well as a sea rescue instructor. He practices osteopathy in Athens, Ikaria, and Bologna. He is passionate about surfing and spearfishing, and he also practices competitive water polo, marathon running, and competitive boxing. He is also a dancer of traditional Greek dance.
Myrsini Pontikopoulou-Venieri
Greek musician, born in Athens. At a very young age, she began taking piano lessons, and in 2019, she completed her studies by obtaining her piano diploma from the Greek Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the International Conservatory of Athens. She graduated from the Music Highschool of Pallini, where she studied classical violin. Since 2016 she has been interested in traditional violin, Eastern Mediterranean music and free improvisation, participating in musical ensembles and attending various music workshops with Ross Daly, Kyriakos Gouventas, Giorgos Papaioannou, and Giannis Zarias. She is a member of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra (Medinea) and participates in international music programmes focused on creation, composition and concerts. Additionally, in 2017, she participated in the string orchestra Mediterranean Peace Symphony, which performed concerts in Italy, Spain, and Turkey. Since 2023 she has been part of the GNO Intercultural Orchestra under the direction of Harris Lambrakis. She is a founding member of the Greek traditional music group Kideria. She has also appeared on radio and television programmes and contributed to the discography of various artists. She has performed at major festivals and concert halls in Greece and has collaborated with such artists as Claron McFadden, Fabrizio Cassol, David Lynch, Dasho Kurt, etc.
Chara Kotsali
Greek dancer recognised for her expressive style and innovative approach to contemporary dance. Trained in both classical techniques and modern choreographic writing, she blends tradition and experimentation, often drawing inspiration from Greek cultural motifs. Chara has performed in theatres and festivals across Europe, collaborating with choreographers, musicians, and visual artists. Her work is distinguished by great sensitivity, fluid physicality, and a deep commitment to storytelling through movement.
Emmanouela Korki
A versatile Greek dancer, choreographer, actress and teacher. She studied dance at the Rallou Manou Professional School of Dance, theatre at the 'G. Theodosiadis' Drama School of Athens and yoga at the Sivananda Centre in Poland. She teaches contemporary dance, improvisation, ballet, and yoga, drawing on such methods as release technique, contact improvisation, viewpoints, and somatics. As a performer, she has collaborated with such groups as UrbanDig Project's Ohi Pezoume, Duende Ensemble, Nostalgia and others. Her choreographic work often explores the relationship between movement, sound, natural environments, and climbing. She is a founding member of the dance collective Moon10, where she researches the interplay between dance, music, climbing, and wild spaces. On stage, she has worked as an actress in notable theatre productions including Prometheus Bound, Woyzeck, Omonoia Station, and Dourgouti Island Hotel.
Co-productions : Comédie de Genève, Centre culturel suisse. Paris, Théâtre du Jura Delémont
Supported by: Société Suisse des Auteurs - SSA, République et Canton de Genève, Pro Helvetia, Fondation Jan Michalski, Fondation Ernst Göhner, Fonds Mécénat SIG.
Warm thanks are extended to ?chli Bergsport
