Nikos Karathanos

Through the support of Onassis AiR, the acclaimed Greek director traveled – as a kind of offbeat ambassador of the Onassis Foundation – to the "utopian" place where he himself had set his recent production of Aristophanes’ Birds. The show premiered at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus and transferred to the Onassis Stegi stage before taking flight for the United States, where it made New York magazine’s online Vulture list of 2018’s Ten Best Theater Productions.

Traveling between Argentina and Chile, and from Patagonia up to Brazil, Karathanos made friends with the young-at-heart elderly who dance tango in Buenos Aires every afternoon, and met with other ambassadors of Greece in the city. He danced with children in Rio’s favelas, and saw for himself how ancient Greek tragedy is taught at the universities of Latin America. He met both with the directors of cultural institutions, theaters and festivals, and with international artists. Found himself among arts communities blossoming in the local neighborhoods of the region’s major urban centers. And all before reaching the far north of Brazil, where he lived with one of the last remaining itinerant theater troupes in the world – a family of traveling saltimbanco performers.

A journey of discovery and the experience of a lifetime, Karathanos’ fellowship is perhaps best summed up in his own words: “At some point I met with Passinho Carioca, a community dance group run by young artists from Rio’s favelas. The passion, the beauty, their love for life and for their art – it stuck in my head... Broadly speaking, Rio seems not to need theater because the city itself is the harshest, most tender kind of theater every hour of the day... It’s more likely we need Rio in order to make theater”.