Dimitris Karantzas
Country: Greece
Biography
Dimitris Karantzas was born in Athens in 1987. He studied at Embros Higher Drama School and at the Department of Communication and Media Studies of the University of Athens. He has worked with the National Theatre, Onassis Stegi, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Greek National Opera, Theatro tou Notou at the Amore Theater, the Karolos Koun Greek Art Theater, Odos Kykladon Theater, etc. He has directed works from both the Greek and international repertoires, including: Dimitris Dimitriadis’s “Phaethon” and “The Circle of the Square”, Euripides’s “Helen” , “Medea” and « Hercules Furens » , Thomas Bernhard’s “Heroes’ Square”, Virginia Woolf’s “The Waves”, Harold Pinter’s “Ashes to Ashes”, Aristophanes’s “The Clouds”, Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” ,“Uncle Vanya” and the « Seagull » , Marina Tsvetaeva’s “Phaedra”, Aeschylus’s “Persians”, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, etc.
His performances have been presented internationally at the Avignon Festival (68th edition), the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Le Lieu Unique in Nantes, the Oslo Nationaltheatret , and International Theatre Amsterdam. He participated in the KunstenFestivalDesArts in Brussels, as a guest artist for its “Residence & Reflections” project. He was nominated for the European Theatre Prize (XVI edition) in the « New Theatrical Realities » category.
He has been serving as Artistic Director of the theatre Proskinio in Athens since 2020.
The House
Written and Directed by Dimitris Karantzas
Concept: Dimitris Karantzas, Geli Kalampaka, Tassos Karachalios
Video: Geli Kalampaka
Set: Clio Boboti
Costume Design: Ioanna Tsami
Movement: Tasos Karachalios
Music: George Ramantanis
Lights: Dimitris Kasimatis
Assistant to Direction: Kelly Papadopoulou
Set Designer Assistant: Angeliki Vassilopoulou Kampitsi
Line Production: Rena Andreadaki, Zoe Mouschi
Surtitles’ translation in English: Memi Katsoni
Simultaneous Surtitling: Yannis Papadakis
With Alexia Kaltsiki, Fidel Talampoukas
Commissioned & produced Onassis Stegi
Supported by the Onassis Stegi “Outward Turn” Cultural Export Program.
Synopsis
Our house. Our little corner of the world. Our definitive retreat. Where we are safe. Or perhaps not? A new, original work—elliptical and revolving mainly around action in silence—comprises the textual material of the parable forged by Dimitris Karantzas and his team, featuring scarce dialogue, relentless tension, and two actors—Alexia Kaltsiki and Fidel Talampoukas—carrying out the daily housekeeping ritual at their home until the world’s violence breaks in and uproots all.
In « The House », two figures, a woman and a man (Siblings? Flatmates? Partners?) spend a typical day in their home, which may be in Athens, Tokyo, London, Madrid, Amsterdam, or New York. In any metropolis where people live in cell-houses, bereft of identity and where everything looks alike. The two figures perform their chores, arrange the shopping, pay the bills, fold the clothes, and tidy up the space and their structure. The art of doing nothing substantial is elevated to a poetic parable, with the daily routine seizing the hinges of the heroes’ thoughts and conquering the stage. Both of them entrench themselves to avoid confronting reality and soothe the nooses that the outside world has in store for them.
Touring dates upcoming :
30 September 2025 – Tbilisi International Theatre Festival
Contacts for interest :
Polyxeni Sotirchou, psotirchou@onassis.org
Christos Christopoulos, cchristopoulos@onassis.org
