Theatre

Helvetia reflects on her origins: her role as a role model, as a mother, as a woman. Carved in stone, she longs for movement. Actress Irina Kastrinidis gives Helvetia a voice and lifts her out of the neutrality of the neuter.

For a long time, I kept asking myself who the woman Helvetia actually was – or is. I began to do research and to talk with people about it. As an actress and author, interested in reimagining or creating female figures for the stage, I started writing theatrical texts. This is how the monologue HELVETIA came into being. While writing, I also mentally immersed myself in this character as an actress. Giving her – HELVETIA – a voice became important to me at that moment.

Helvetia poses urgent questions: What does Switzerland represent? What expectations are placed upon her? And what pressure does she place upon herself?

External Link: about-us.ch

RED

Written by Irina Kastrinidis

The text AUFDERFLUCHT was presented for the first time in Zurich as part of the Mikis Theodorakis 100 festival curated by Irina Kastrinidis and Asteris Koutoulas.

Revision: Ina and Asteris Koutoulas

A theatre play commissioned by MARALAM and written by Irina Kastrinidis and Nora Amin

Venues:
Opening at the D-CAF Festival in Cairo.
Rote Fabrik Zurich, Alexandia and Tunis.

Two young women from different cultural worlds meet in a mystical place beyond time and space, where nothing seems impossible. In this setting, significant female figures gradually appear to them, such as the Egyptian pharaoh.

At the beginning, the piece makes use of augmented reality—a technology in which digital elements are added to the real environment through special glasses. This also raises questions about the possibilities and limits of digitally resurrecting the deceased. Can we bring loved ones back from death, overcome farewell, find comfort? At least digitally?

External links: boatpeopleprojekt.de | rotefabrik.ch | d-caf.org

"Black Sea" – monologue and theatre text written by Irina Kastrinidis; staged at the Landestheater Niederösterreich under the direction of Frank Castorf, among others. This play combines ancient myths with contemporary motifs and tells a narrative journey into the history of the Black Sea.