OLEANNA
The Synergy of Music Theatre inaugurates the new venue SYNERGEIO, culture space by presenting David Mamet’s play “Oleanna,” directed by Costas Lamproulis. The premiere will take place on Friday, November 15, 2024, at 9:00 p.m., and performances will continue until Janunary 2025, from Thursday to Sunday.
The play
Oleanna was written by David Mamet in 1992, one year after the first sexual harassment trial in the United States. It was first performed in May 1992 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by the Back Bay Theater Company. A year later, it was staged at the Royal Court Theater, directed by Harold Pinter, and in 1994, the play was adapted for the big screen. Since then, Oleanna has been continuously performed around the world, provoking intense debate and reflection. As a renowned author, screenwriter, and director, David Mamet stands out for his precise use of the American language and his interest in the relationship between language and behaviour.
The story
A university professor, John, receives his student, Carol, in his office. She is desperate to pass her course. The professor suggests a series of meetings outside the educational process and university rules in order to upgrade her written assignment. This meeting will be the beginning of fierce conflicts, with the two protagonists constantly changing roles as perpetrator and victim. Through the text and David Mamet’s masterful writing, the cannibalism caused by the desire for power emerges. The viewer often needs to rethink and reinterpret what they see and feel about the characters in the play, as countless questions arise in their mind. How can power change those who acquire it? Who defines the essence of education? Who defines—if it can be defined at all—objective reality? Faced with the uncertainty and insecurity that the text provokes, one thing is certain: it allows for multiple interpretations.
“He says it was just a lesson. She says it was sexual harassment.
Whichever one you believe, you’ll be wrong.”
David Mamet
Premiere: November 15, 2024
Contributors
Writer: David Mamet
Translation & Direction: Costas Lamproulis
Cast: Apostolos Lygdas, Vana Sleiman
Set design and costumes: Dimitra Exarchou
Lighting design: Giannis Hatziantoniou
Music: Filippos Zoukas
Assistant director: Katerina Bekou
Stage combat: Ioanna Georgakopoulou
Photography: Giannis Chatziantoniou
Video: Dimitris Vallas
Creative printed material: Labrouli’s creative
Technical support: Periklis Chastalis
Production: Synergy of Music Theatre (SMouTh)
Communication: Chrysanthi Manidou
Production: SMouTh team
Premiere: Friday, November 15, 2024
Where: SYNERGEIO, cultural space, 22 Oikonomou Ex Oikonomon, 41223 Larissa
The performance lasts approximately 90 minutes
Admission: €12 (standard), €9 (student)
Advance ticket sales: online at smouth.com and at SYNERGEIO culture space, 22 Oikonomou Ex Oikonomon, Monday to Friday 10:00 am-2:00 pm and 7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Tel: 2411 812 432 and 2411 812 431.