(Tree)²

Alternative Stage Founding Donor

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

The Greek National Opera launches a collaboration with the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kavala, aiming to strengthen its network of partnerships with organizations across Greece and support new artistic creations. As part of this partnership and a new, joint initiative, the four new productions from this year’s 68th Philippi Festival will travel to Athens, hosted by the GNO, from 12 to 16 September 2025. These productions were all commissioned from emerging artists by the Festival, which is organized by the Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kavala.

Three of these performances – (Tree)², The Infallibility of One (1) DaisY, Rock + Thread + Heart = – will be held at the Stavros Niarchos Hall Backstage at the SNFCC on the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th of September, bringing the audience in direct contact with site-specific works. The fourth production – (All)^ν those things we leave behind < for a tomorrow that will never come… – will take place at sea on the 15^th and 16^th of September, along the Piraeus – Egina route, transforming the ship into a stage and turning the journey into a memorable experience.

Inspired by the life and work of Chronis Missios – a literary figure and member of the Greek Resistance from Kavala to whom this year’s Festival is dedicated – and guided by the paradoxical equation of generosity 8-3=11, the performances will engage in open dialogue with the institution’s theme, connecting speech, music, and performance to the surrounding space and the audience.

(Tree)²
In a world where the lines between fantasy and reality blur, two young people—a boy and a girl— find themselves trapped in inner and outer confinements. With civil war and their violent exclusion in different countries and times serving as their common ground, they discuss, confront each other, and seek freedom. Through their conversation, they negotiate concepts such as memory, the body, life, death, and the very essence of freedom.

The performance’s dramaturgy incorporates the neurological phenomenon known as “prisoner’s cinema”, which occurs when the brain, in conditions of total darkness and deprivation, projects luminous images ranging from abstract colours to complete scenes onto the retina. In this optical illusion – an escape from painful reality – converging and diverging pieces of the heroes’ lives unfold, flowing between the present and the past. But can such a projection become a refuge? Is imagination an escape route or a trap? The performance features texts from Chronis Missio’s books, as well as excerpts from Sucha Besara’s book Resistance, in free translation.

*Warm thanks are extended to Alexandros Stavropoulos for his valuable help.  

Brief biographical notes

Vasilis Apostolatos
Born in Patras in 1973. While studying at the Faculty of Theology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, he started working in theatre. From 1992 to the present, he has worked as a director, stage and lighting designer in Greece and abroad. From 2009 to 2011, he attended two series of theatre lighting workshops at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He has been teaching lighting design at the Toneelacademie Maastricht since 2013 and, since 2019, has also been teaching Stage Design and Technical Theatre at the American School of The Hague. He completed a Master’s in Theatre Directing at the Toneelacademie Maastricht. He has collaborated with renowned directors such as Johan Simons, Abdel Daoudi, Jan Bosse and Arvand Dashtaray, as well as organisations including Jeugdtheaterschool Rabarber, STET English Theatre, Altstadt Theater Rotterdam, De Schuur and Via Zuid.

Michalis Paraskakis
Composer and vocalist based in Athens and The Hague. His work is often rich in theatrical elements and shaped by what he calls an “aesthetic of flaw”, where sonic imperfections become compositional tools. He initially studied graphic design in Athens before devoting himself to composition and voice at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. His music spans opera, contemporary ensemble works, electronic, music theatre and multimedia works, often blurring the boundaries between genres. He has collaborated extensively with the Greek National Opera (Strella, A Greek Songbook, First Love, Orpheus), the Onassis Stegi (Soundscapes, Ambient Pressure, Dépaysement, Tectonics), and the Athens & Epidaurus Festival (Field Guide, Chevron Fold). His works have been presented internationally at festivals and venues such as Impuls (Graz), MATA Festival (New York), Muziekgebouw (Amsterdam), and Korzo (The Hague), in countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Kazakhstan, Croatia, France, the USA, the UK, and others. He is the founder of the contemporary music ensemble TETTTIX and, since April 2025, he serves as president of the Greek Composers Union.

Zoe Xanthopoulou
Αctress, director, and writer. Her work has been presented outside Greece in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Serbia, Poland, Italy, and elsewhere. Her most recent work as a director is the play The Most Beautiful Body That Has Ever Been Found in This Place by Josep Maria Miró, featuring Argyris Xafis, staged at Thiseion Theatre.

Danai-Arsenia Filidou
Born in Kavala. She graduated from the Acting Department of the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece. Some of the plays she has participated in are: The Slender Girl (dir. Irene Lamprinopoulou), Three Sisters (Better Days Will Come) (dir. Irene Lamprinopoulou), Abelard and Heloise (dir. Dimitris Stavropoulos), Romeo and Juliet – A Romantso Club Tragedy (dir. Marios Kakoullis), A Night at Epidaurus (dir. Nikos Karathanos). As a writer, she has adapted the play Animal Farm for the Kozani Municipal and Regional Theatre. She also assisted in writing the play Three Sisters (Better Days Will Come).

Anastasios Georgoulas
He is an actor, born in 1998 and graduated from the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece in 2021. He has collaborated with National Theatre of Greece, Onassis Stegi, Municipal Theatre of Piraeus, Anesis Theatre and Municipal and Regional Theatre of Kavala. He has also worked with directors including Thanos Tokakis, Giannis Karaoulis, Sofia Vgenopoulou, Pantelis Flatsousis, Dimitris Stavropoulos, Orestis Stavropoulos, Marios Kakoullis, Odysseas Zikas and others. He has also participated in short films by Dimitris Nakos, Théodore Vráchas and Anna Filidou.