Babybird Babybird

A genetics lab, four experts, a stork, and all of us occupy the Onassis Stegi Upper Stage to address an issue omnipresent at the agenda of the public debate, due to nationalist uproar attracted by its ideological connotations.

Envisioning the future means talking about future’s people. However, over the last few decades, ever fewer people in Europe are having ever fewer babies. Stage director Dimitris Bampilis and four experts on the issue consider a series of questions: What do the numbers show? Did people stop having sex? Is it that more and more people are not having offspring by virtue of choice? How do societal constructs intertwine with biological impulses? And if we really are in ‘population decline,’ why are those seeking a better life being persecuted?

The APARÄMILLON creative team have put together a piece of documentary theater exploring concepts and issues that include ‘low birth rate,’ ‘overpopulation,’ motherhood as a conscious personal choice, pregnancy termination, prenatal checks, national healthcare policy, sperm banks, and dating apps. Using interviews and statistics, personal testimonies and scientific studies, discretion and humor, they intervene into the debate regarding birthrate and parenthood, a recurring debate since moral panic and rhetoric on the dangers of “corrupting the nation” tend to dominate it.

We would like to thank: Yorgos Valais, Nikoletta Vernikou, Yorgos Voulgaridis, Danae Georgiou, Vassiliki Kanellopoulou, Nikos Raftakis, Irene Tzouma, Anthi Tsagalidou, Dimitris Tsiamis, and all those who contributed their precious thoughts