Nikos Karathanos

Nikos Karathanos was born in Athens, originating from Evrytania, Greece. He studied at the Pedagogical Academy of Rhodes, and at the National Theater of Greece Drama School. As an actor, he has worked with the directors Anatoli Vassiliev, Dimiter Gotscheff, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jossi Wieler, Matthias Langhoff, John Madden, Yannis Houvardas, Michail Marmarinos, Dimitris Mavrikios, Vassilis Papavasiliou, et al. He has played the leading role in many performances of the classical and contemporary repertory and has taken part in tours across Greece and internationally.

He has directed the following performances:

2006 “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare, National Theater of Greece

2008 “Eight Women” by Robert Thomas, Athens and Epidaurus Festival

2010 “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostan, National Theater of Greece

2012 Opening Ceremony at Delphi Ancient Theater

2013 “Golfo” by Spyridon Peressiadis, National Theater of Greece

2014 “Decameron” – An adaptation on Boccaccio’s play, National Theater of Greece

2015 “Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov, Onassis Stegi

2015 “Salome” based on the oratorio “San Giovanni Battista” by Alessandro Stradella, Athens and Epidaurus Festival

2016 “Birds” by Aristophanes, Epidaurus Ancient Theater and Onassis Stegi

2017-18 “Operetta” by Witold Gombrowicz, National Theater of Greece

2018 “Birds” by Aristophanes, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, New York

“Birds” was named among the top-10 performances of 2018 in the US by “New York Magazine,” and in 2020 was performed at the prestigious Santiago a Mil festival, Chile, by a cast including Greek actors, as well as Brazilian ones of the Passinho Carioca group.

2021 “Prometheus” (based on Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound”), Onassis Stegi

2022 “Inland” by Angelos Triantafyllou, Greek National Opera

2023 “A night at Epidaurus” by Lena Kitsopoulou, National Theatre of Greece

2023 Research trip to Japan

2024 “Cavalleria Rusticana―Pagliacci” by Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo, Greek National Opera

He has received many awards for his work, both himself and the members of his group. He has collaborated with the National Theater of Greece, the Greek National Opera, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, as well as with numerous private and regional theaters, but also with Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Karathanos teaches at the National Theater of Greece Drama School (Stage Direction Department) and has taught at the University UCRA, Rio de Janeiro.

Films on his work: “Golfo at Epidaurus,” dir. Elias Giannakakis; “The Cherry Orchard, Mickey Mouse and Nikos Karathanos,” dir. Elias Giannakakis; “Birds (or How to Be One),” dir. Babis Makridis; “A Kitchen in Caucasus,”, dir. Dimitris and Orestis Stavropoulos; “Birds,” dir. Christos Sarris.

As part of the Onassis AiR Pilot Professional Development Fellowships (2018), Nikos Karathanos conducted a multi-phase program of research trips, attending the 50th anniversary of Steirischer Herbst Festival, in Graz. Austria, followed by studio visits to performing and visual artists in the Netherland and Belgium, as well as meetings with venue, festival, and residency program directors, concluding with a practice-based phenomenological research trip to Brazil’s diverse urban and rural areas, Argentina, and Chile.