Excited and honored to be part of a production of the Greek National Opera, presenting Cheap Smokes, a musical based on the cult film of 1999, that marked the early 2000s thanks to its urban romanticism and nocturnal, youthful aesthetic.
February 11th to March 13th
at the Greek National Opera Alternative Stage
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
The play features original crew members such as Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos and Renos Haralambidis, and is directed for the stage by Konstantinos Rigos.
Composer Panagiotis Kalantzopoulos adds 18 new songs to the original soundtrack, while Konstantinos Rigos’ atmospheric direction portrays the sensual core of this sui generis slacker movie with film noir elements through a masterly use of space, condensing the locations of the original script around a versatile, hallucinogenic lounge.
Of vital importance is the live onstage presence of the film’s director and screenwriter Renos Haralambidis as the narrator, encapsulating the aesthetic venture of a show that takes the form of a flash-back between two time zones: here, the central character, an Athenian flâneur (portrayed in the original film by Haralambidis himself), is torn between his past and present self, casting a glance at once nostalgic and critical toward the transition –which defined both the hero and the city– from languid post-adolescence to maturity and from the 20th to the 21st century.
If you are in Athens between February 11th and March 13th, make sure you mark your agenda! Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.nationalopera.gr/en/tickets
(info from www.nationalopera.gr)