Dance and Theatre
Collaboration, Integration and Experimentation between art forms such as dance, puppetry, music and visual arts is an essential part of our work.
Electra Untitled
Electra Untitled, is a Physical and Visual Theatre adaptation of the myth of Electra as seen in the Greek tragedy Electra by Sophocles. Dance, Puppetry and Visual storytelling, reconstruct her story which she owns and rewrites through the lens of female empowerment. Electra becomes a modern antihero; tangled in violence that runs for generations of patriarchal suppression. The myth is told freed from means of attachment and biases of the past in an attempt to address Electra’s tragedy to its core through the female gaze.
Electra Untitled adds a modern twist to a tragic narrative and brings forward the role of women who provoke change in times of hostility and dissolution. The project aims to raise awareness on the collective trauma of domestic violence and to co devise workshops on embodied dramaturgy with communities of women and queer communities across the UK and abroad.
Credits 2023
Devised/Choreographed and Performed by:
Alexa Kormari, Emilie Largier, Masumi Saito, Elena Stamoulakatou, Mayra Stergiou
Based on Electra by Sophocles
Concept/Adaptation/Direction: Mayra Stergiou
Movement Director (RnD): Savvas Stroumpos
Consultant for Set and Costumes: Mayou Trikerioti
Puppet Maker: Kelly Frost
Live Musician/Composer: Gregory Emfietzis
Light Design: Alexandros Politakis
Marketing and Communication: Alexa Kormari
Assistant Director / Stage Manager: Angela Poulima
Assistant producer: Bianca Beneduzi
Co-Production: Vertebra Theatre, The Cockpit Theatre
Press:
★★★★ “A remarkable experience” North West End UK
'A powerful, evocative piece which resonated in many ways, dark, visceral and mischievous.'
Polly Teale, Theatre Director and Playwright, Shared Experience
RnD phase, Resolution Festival, The Place, London, 2022
Credits
Devisors/Performers:
Piedad Albarraccin Seiquer, Susie Fairbrother, Mayra Stergiou
Based on Electra bySophocles
Concept/Adaptation/Direction: Mayra Stergiou
Movement Director: Savvas Stroumpos
Scenography/Costumes: Mayou Trikerioti
Dramaturgy: Ezgi Uzşen
Music Direction: Jon Paul Mayse
Live Musician/Composer: Anna Helena McLean
Light Design: Alexandros Politakis
Marketing and Communication: Alexa Kormari
Production: Vertebra Theatre, The Place
Research Residency at Theatre Attis, Athens, Greece
Artistic Mentors: Theodoros Terzopoulos, Savvas Stroumpos
Workshops Co Production: Claremont Project, Women for Refugee Women, CNWL NHS
Supported by: Arts Council England, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Available for UK/European touring 2023 - 2025
An Ice Thing To Say
In an Icy land of ruins, a human being and a polar bear are meeting in an encounter of surviving the Anthropocene. “An Ice Thing to Say” blends Ice installation, puppetry, music and physical theatre to explore our impact on nature. Drawing on inspiration from Erich Fromm's book 'To Have or to Be?' and Ecoscenography, we invite the audience into a multi sensory experience of our inner and outer icy landscapes. We attempt to challenge the idea that the human being is at the centre of the world and we attempt to construct an embodied inquire into 'what has gone wrong?'
CREATIVES:
Live Performance 2023:
Devisors/Performers:
Piedad Albarracin Seiquer, Bianca Beneduzi, Alexa Kormari, Susie Fairbrother, Elena Stamoulakakou, Mayra Stergiou
Concept / Direction/ Scenography: Mayra Stergiou
Text/Poems: Piedad Albaracin Seiquer, Sussie Fairbrother, Elena Stamoulakatou, Mayra Stergiou
Co-Scenography/Costumes: Elisabeth Leau
Sound Design/ Live Music: Gregory Emfietzis
Operatic Singing: Myrto Loulaki
Light Design: Hazuki Mogan
Puppet Maker: Raven Kaliana
Marketing and Communication: Alexa Kormari
Production: Vertebra Theatre, Vault Festival
2021, 2022 Live Performers/Devisors: Neyire Ashworth, Paraskevi Bakis,
Stella Evangelia Kasoumpi
Press
★★★★★ 'Outstanding Show' Fringe Review
★★★★ 'Superbly executed.' A Younger Theatre
★★★★ 'Exquisitely abstract. This provocative visual feast captivates and unsettles' Fringe Biscuit.
'Performance Art at its Best' The Gisborn Herald, NZ
'As a meditation on Man’s inhumanity to nature, it is absorbing, challenging, and thought-provoking' Regional News Kiwi
Currently in UK & International Touring:
Cockpit Theatre, Talos Science Fiction Theatre Festival, Gothenburg FF Kuturtemple, Blivante Stockholm , Melbourne FF, New Zealand FF, Reykjavik FF, Oslo Art and Salt, The Vault Festival London
The Research aspect of the Project has been part of Doctoral research at Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Research Supervisor on expanded scenography: Dr Simon Donger
Research Supervisor on trauma: Prof. Dominik Halvsteen-Franklin
Image Credits: Gustav Guaran
Performer on Image: Stella Evangelia Kasoumpi
Dark Matter
People say your whole life flashes in front of your eyes before you die but what happens when you have dementia? Where does the brain go before we die? Alfi, an elder astrophysicist with dementia guides us into his universe, a world of star constellations. Dark matter theory and black holes merge in a race against the clock to distinguish fantasy from reality and discover meaning.
CREATIVES
Devisors / Puppeteers: Adam Courting, Daniel Finn, Doug Router, Aurora Adams, Alicia Britt, Jennie Rawling
Performers: Piedad Albarracin Seiquer, Sofia Calmicova
Conceived / Written / Directed: Mayra Stergiou
Co - Writer: Eirini Dermitzaki
Music Composer: Gregory Emfietzis
Puppet Maker: Kelly Frost
Dramaturg: Tilly Lunken
Set Design: Stella Evangelia, Mayra Stergiou
Past RnD Puppeteers/Performers/Devisors: Almudena Adalia Calvo, Daniel Moseley, Sussie Fairbrother, Cecile Dumont, Paula Siu, Outside Puppets Collective
Dementia Consultant: Prof. Sebastian Crutch
End of Life Consultant: Prof. bee Wee
Press
★★★★★'Beautifully done' Fringe Review
★★★★ 'Beautiful visualisations' FringeGuru
★★★★'Wonderful Production' LondonTheatre1
★★★★ 'Excellent production' Southside Advertiser
★★★★'The joy of this piece is the rarity of its exploration' The Upcoming
★★★★ Mesmerising' In CoventGarden
''Those eyes will stay with me for a long time.''
The British Theatre Guide
"Dark Matter harnesses everything puppetry has to offer"
A Younger Theatre
Supported by:
Arts Council, Care UK, Jewish Care, Camden Council, Islington Council, UCL, Little Angel Theatre, Tristan Bates and The Actor's Centre, Voila Europe, Frilagret Theatre, Gothenburg Fringe, PPLG
Image Credits: Tristan Keaton
At The Heart of Things
At the heart of things’ is a dance theatre performance inspired by Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis. We use dance, puppetry, live music and devised text to create a contemporary adaptation of De Profundis diving in to female sexuality, queer identity and homophobia.
CREATIVES:
Directed/conceived: Mayra Stergiou
Performers: Piedad Albarracin Seiquer, Depi Gorgogiani, Jennie Rawling
Composer/ Live Music: Gregory Emfietzis
Puppet Maker: Kelly Frost
Set Design: Loukia Minetou
Choreography Support: Adrian Look
Press
''Truly enjoyable, sensitive piece of dance theatre'' London Live Post
"An innovative take on De profundis and an arresting exploration of female sexuality" A younger theatre'