The Circle of the Square is a sprawling and terrifying play, based on the repetition and combination of four initial scenes, of what looks at first glance like four unremarkable romantic situations. First there's Jade, who wants to come back to Green, whatever the cost, but the price set by Green is so high as to be impossible to pay. Then there's Yellow and Red, who wonder which one of them Blue likes the most, and who have to make a decision. There's also Violet, who left Mauve after years of marriage in order to move in with Grey, who isn't quite ready to commit to living with someone else. And then there's Black, who wants to crack the secret of Sky, who can't seem to make Skye come. Infinite variations on those basic events slowly create a frightening maelstrom which builds up momentum and culminates in a headlong rush. None of the characters are able to solve the problems they face. Words never give way to silence but instead turn into a scream that reflects the struggle each character goes through as they try to answer for their own existence and responsibility. It is by causing, then accepting, catastrophe that each character is able to make his or her voice be heard; they all meet death, then escape it by overcoming the banality of their existence. Dimitris Karantzas demands of his actors that they be keenly aware of the situations they are going to be acting out in front of the audience even before they set foot on stage. He has found in this play by fellow Greek writer Dimitris Dimitriadis a work whose stakes are commensurate with his own dramatic practices.
Born in 1944 in Salonica, where he still lives, Dimitris Dimitriadis studied at the INSAS in Brussels where, in 1966, he wrote his first play, The Price of the Revolt at the Black Market, which would then be directed by Patrice Chéreau in Aubervilliers in 1968. His dramatic work is both rich and powerful and explores the human psyche when faced with extreme situations. He is the author of over forty plays and poetry collections. He has also translated Genet, Blanchot, Duras, Koltès, Bataille, Molière, Beckett, Cioran... During the 2009-2010 season, Olivier Py and the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe paid him homage by having seven of his untranslated plays translated into French and programming three of his works: The Vertigo of the Animals Before the Slaughter (directed by Caterina Gozzi), The Circle of the Square (directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti) and Dying Like a Country (directed by Michael Marmarinos).
Laurent Muhleisen, April 2014
Distribution
Text Dimitris Dimitriadis
Direction Dimitris Karantzas
Movement Zoe Chatziantoniou
Set design Eleni Manolopoulou
Sound design Dimitris Kamarotos
Light Design Alekos Anastasiou
Costumes Ioanna Tsami
Assistant Director Theodora Kapralou
Executive production Joanna Kampouridou
With
Periklis Moustakis Vert
Maria Kechagioglou Verte
Konstadinos Avarikiotis Rouge
Giannis Klinis Jaune
Aris Mpalis Bleu
Giorgos Gallos Ciel
Alexia Kaltsiki Cielle
Christos Stergioglou Noir
Mihalis Oikonomou Violet
Omiros Poulakis Gris
Elina Rizou Violette
Production
Production and with the support of Centre Culturel Onassis – Athènes
With the participation of Fondation BNP Paribas