Booze

It’s hard to imagine the work of novelist Nikos Gavriil Pentzikis being staged. Yet a group of young actors are bringing two of his short stories to life at Booze, on Kolokotroni Street. They are performing «Aidiasma» (Disgust) and «Katsarides» (Cockroaches) on Mondays and Tuesdays, which are reserved for alternative events. I want to see the work but shrink at the prospect of extreme postmodernism. A drink on the first floor of Booze allays the discomfort. Seeing people I know creates a sense of familiarity. Friends of director Vassilis Noulas are working at the box office. The atmosphere is friendly, collective, easygoing. On the stage are three people. One, hidden among cardboard cartons, slowly emerges. Vicky Kyriakopoulou and Despina Hatzipavlidou are professional actors. Constantinos Hatzinikolaou is making his stage debut. The one-hour production encompasses music, song, acting, criticism, suspense, protest and sarcasm. Pentzikis’s texts seem fresh and relevant. Noulas, 33, has studied drama in Athens and at the Sorbonne, and is now studying at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He set up his theater group, Nova Melancolia, in 2006, and they have already mounted three productions, two at Booze and one at the Adeios Horos of the National Theater. All of them were based on texts, old or new. «I like having a text as a basis. I don’t like what they call the theater of invention,» said Noulas. Asked why he wanted to stage Pentzikis, Noulas explained, «I want to do things that I like and that are a challenge.» I went down the stairs after an interesting evening, having seen how things from the past can refuel the present. Booze, 57 Kolokotronis Street.