Young new migrants from Greece have given a boost to the calibre of theatrical performance and increased youth attendance says artistic director Harry Constantinidis of the EEAMA Theatre Group.
The fluency of their Greek and their theatrical experience from the Hellenic Republic is giving a new resurgence to local theatre that has been lacking since the glory days of theatre created by the first migrants to the Antipodes.
Mr Constantinidis says the new migrants and their experience complements the group of actors that has been working at the theatre for many years.
The representation of youth taking part in the theatre is an encouraging sign for Mr Constantinidis, and the future of local Greek theatre in not only Melbourne, but Australia.
“I am now noticing a trend; every time I have young people on stage, young people come to the theatre,” he says, adding that these youth are newcomers to the theatre. He says this is caused by the friendships being formed by the second, third-generation Greek Australians with the newly arrived migrants. Many young Greek Australians are forging these friendships after meeting at cultural hubs such as Oakleigh and in support of the new migrants are attending local theatre, even if their knowledge of the Greek language isn’t fluent.
Mr Constantinidis says it doesn’t matter what your level of Greek is like, with the theatre you can always follow the plot, and understand the general gist of the show.
“Don’t be afraid to see a show that is all in Greek,” he says. “Go and experience it and then make up your mind. I remember the first time I saw an opera I thought I would fall asleep, but it wasn’t until my third or fourth one, did I start appreciating everything that was going on. It will take a little while, but be patient and go see a few shows.”
Unbeknownst to the theatre, it is acting as an informal school for Greek Australians to gain a better knowledge of the Greek language, but also assisting new migrants to practice their English by networking and talking with people in the play.
On the weekend, there were two local theatre productions; one that featured various stars of Greek television To Diazygio and the EEAMA production of What do you wear in your sleep?. Yet the attendance by youth was prominent in the local theatre production, more so than that of the one featuring Greek TV stars, which had a predominantly older audience, made up mainly of first-generation Greek Australians.
“What attracts people to this particular play are the people who watch Antenna, and they are familiar with those characters and their TV series,” he says, and this group of people tends to be first-generation.
