«YANNIS THE OX»

 Festival @ The Park '25 

«YANNIS THE OX»

 Monday August 25, 2025 | 21:00 

Paros Park
Archilochos Theater

This summer, the magic of the Aegean comes alive like never before!

Get ready for the premier cultural highlight of the Cyclades as the Festival at the Park returns from June to September 2025, offering a season filled with unforgettable artistic experiences at the Paros Environmental and Cultural Park. Nestled within a protected natural wonder of immense geological and historical significance, the Park offers the perfect setting where natureΆs beauty meets artistic excellence. This yearΆs festival promises a rich, multidimensional program - featuring theater, dance, and music performances from acclaimed artists, creative groups, and cultural organizations from Greece and beyond. ItΆs an invitation to celebrate summer where culture and nature harmoniously unite to inspire and move.

The moving and, at the same time, harsh story of "Yannis" comes to life again on Monday, August 25, 2025, at 21:00, at the Theater of the Park Aï-Yannis Detis.

"Yannis the Ox" is a play with a compelling plot and relentless pace. It features bold, distinctive, sarcastic, and cynical humor, offering a penetrating view into the human comedy hidden within life's small tragedies. Written by Evangelia Gatsoti as part of the 3rd Outreach Project, under the guidance of playwright Vasilis Katsikonouris, the text emerged from real-life interview transcriptions, which became the raw material for a new and original dramaturgy. The aim is to redefine how local, often invisible, micro-histories are received, using fiction as the vehicle

The Play

A folklorist and a young woman anchor at a sleepy island port one hot afternoon, seeking to gather juicy fruit from the fertile fields of folk tradition. Their folkloric quest begins with interviews with locals-but the stories they uncover shatter their preconceived image of the rosy-cheeked, good-natured villager. As one revelation follows another, the protagonists are swept into a spiral of silence and complicity, leading them toward a painful yet cathartic resolution. The play seeks to bring to light the true story of a child-a story the collective memory of his community tried to erase. Actors Filippos Kontoyiorgis, Thanasis Lysandropoulos, Stavria Nikolaou, and Grigoris Pantazis rotate through all roles, giving the impression of reliving the events of their lives in the four corners of a rural courtyard.

"Yannis the Ox" is published alongside three other contemporary Greek plays by Aparsis Editions.

Author's Note

"Digging into this story, I felt both the joy of discovery and the guilt of a grave-robber. In the end, what gives me relief and redemption is the sense of fulfilling a duty-to restore the memory of a person who had been forgotten."

Director's Note

"My goal was to let the story be heard as clearly as possible. I wanted the audience to imagine the setting-the smells, the sounds, the images-on their own. I didn't direct a period piece, but a true story told in the present tense, speaking directly to the here and now. At the same time, I tried to explore the characters' psychology as authentically as possible, without anachronisms or reinterpretations. I was deeply concerned with how these people love, get hurt, express themselves, and think, without the media references that define 21st-century life. There's a blurred line between 'now' and 'then' throughout the performance. Linear narrative disappears, and the audience can't always tell when the events take place-Is it 2024? 1960? Is it night, noon, dawn, morning...? 'Yannis the Ox' is my second child. It's the most important work I've brought to the stage so far. I'm incredibly lucky and grateful that Evangelia entrusted me with her work-and also lucky to have this powerful group of artists bringing it to life."

CREDITS

Text / Concept: Evangelia Gatsoti
Director: Panagiotis Liaropoulos
Set Design: Alkyoni Divari, Lia Mantouvalou
Costumes: Archontoula Tsatsoulaki
Live Music: Hydrama
Lighting Design: Semina Papalexandropoulou
Assistant Director: Anthia Moustaka-Kolyva
Photography - Trailer - Poster Artwork: Daniel Voreakos

CAST
Filippos Kontoyiorgis, Thanasis Lysandropoulos, Stavria Nikolaou, Grigoris Pantazis

About the Paros Park

The Environmental and Cultural Park of Paros is a beacon of cultural innovation and sustainable tourism. Established in 2009 as a municipal initiative, the Park operates year-round, offering cultural, educational, and environmental programs that enrich the local community and visitors alike. Spanning 800 acres across the stunning Ai-Yannis Detis peninsula, the Park is a pioneering and innovative model of sustainable cultural development, aiming to elevate the Aegean's cultural and eco-tourism landscape. Every summer, it organizes the Festival at the Park, under the artistic direction of Themistocles Karpodinis.

Stay connected and explore the full festival program:

🌐 www.parospark.com
📘 facebook.com/parospark

Contact:
Ai-Yiannis Detis, Naoussa,

Paros 84401, Greece

📞 +30 22840 53573

📧 contact@parospark.com