Twenty Two returns on stage, with an enriched production taking the audience on a journey through the Asia Minor Catastrophe in 1922, one of the greatest calamities suffered by Hellenism, that shaped modern Greek history and culture.
The Greek Community of Melbourne’s Creative Drama and Arts Centre music and theatre production premiered in December 2022, the second performance will take place this Saturday 22 April and Sunday 23 April, at Clayton Community Centre, which will be in Greek with English live-captions.
Directed by Jeremy Artis, Twenty Two pays tribute to the tragic events during the Asia Minor Catastrophe, starting with the Greco-Turkish Wars that forced over one million Greeks to flee their homeland Asia Minor and seek shelter in Greece and other countries as refugees.
This resonates deeply with those that understand the hardships refugees undergo.
The live music on stage highlights the experience and transfers the audience to a time just before 1922, it travels throughout the events that occurred during the catastrophe, ending in the relocation of all refugees in Athens.
“We wanted to do something dedicated to minorities, so we started with several texts and this play was pretty much the outcome,” said Artis to Neos Kosmos.
Last year’s anniversary, marking 100 years of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, motivated Artis to direct a play that embodied the core of this experience, hoping that Greek Australians who will watch this performance will feel “proud about being part of the history and culture,” that speaks to the heart of Hellenism.
The documented monologues constituted of refugee witness accounts, as well as extracts of books and plays, leading to a process that was “exciting,” yet rather “challenging at the same time,” according to 34year-old Artis.
“We had to deal with different types of texts, some from novels and others from testimonies. My method was to stay true to the text,” he explains, adding that the purpose was not to “simply communicate the story but also the form.”
Artis said that he is “proud of this play” and for what has been achieved “under the circumstances.”
“This is not a professional team that I’ve been working with, everyone has their everyday life, kids, jobs…Once or twice a week I asked them to forget their everyday life and be someone else.”
The cast includes the well-known actor Antonios Baxevanidis as well as Athina Giannou, Giannis Lyris, Jeremy Artis, Ioanna Kothroula, Lemonia Shoina, Maria Bakalidou, Nicky Skouri, Pam Pollalis, Panos Apostolou, and Syrmo Kapoutsi.
What drove 34year old Artis to pursue studies in the film industry, was his intrinsic curiosity and care for human behavior, as well as a deep drive for empathy.
He also teaches drama at a Greek school in Melbourne and believes it is a form of art that keeps the Greek language alive, as Greek is easier expressed through arts, “rather than grammar.”
Recognising the distinct differences that characterise the two languages, he admits that reading through the script, and translating the texts into English, often “made sense” but at the same time “not really.”
However, he stresses the importance of creating a space, free of language barriers, allowing communication and exchange of ideas to grow.
“I personally wanted an open dialogue among those who speak Greek and those who live in Melbourne,” Artis said.
“It’s not just about someone seeing a play performed in their mother language, that is in fact slowly fading. It might be on a very insignificant scale what we do but I think it’s important that this performance creates a space for dialogue.”
