Anestis Azas writes about “Erotic Postcards from Greece”

“Erotic Postcards from Greece” is an irreverent episodic musical farce whose core thematic is the summer holiday season: a moment for exceptions and relaxation, a point that helps define time itself and the ways in which it is perceived in Greece – times filled with expectant hopes and their denial. A series of dark stories are told on stage in the style of a contemporary meta variety show, each unfolding in a Greek summer setting. Together, these create an original theater form based on the texts of Lena Kitsopoulou, seaside songs, research materials, personal experiences, and fictive elements.

The production was postponed just days before its scheduled premiere in March due to the lockdown and was reworked in the autumn, when it was enriched with new scenes and commentary that capture the unprecedented situations we are facing in the time of coronavirus.

The work sprang from licentious erotic postcards (showing satyrs, ancient Greek orgies, and naked female bodies on beaches) – a familiar sight at kiosks and souvenir shops, at least for those of us who remember the 1980s and ’90s. In recognizing these images – and a section of summertime iconography along with them – as a construct that serves the male gaze, we are hoping to comment on the patriarchy and sexism, and their place in our country’s culture.

– Anestis Azas, October 2020