Review: THE GREAT CHIMERA at Thessaloniki Concert Hall

Yet another great performance Thessaloniki's Concert Hall hosted. The GREAT CHIMERA started as a book first published in 1936 by M. Karagatsis and is considered one of the greatest Greek literary pieces. Then it was adapted as a play by Stratis Paschalis and came to life through the directing of Dimitris Tarlow in 2014. Now 5 years later, it starts its tour from Thessaloniki.

Throught the play we get to watch the life of a French woman whith a troubling childhood and a big love for Greek literature. In an attempt to escape her past she follows her husband to Greece and tries to be assimilated by the 'wonderfully' hostile invronment of Syra. However, being in the country of her dreams wakes up the ghosts of her pasts and leads to her self-destruction.

Ι have to admit that despite the show not being my cup of tea, in all technical aspects the performance was excellent. I loved the costumes and the settings (made by Eleni Manolopoulou) I was impressed about how good Alexandra Aidini who played Marina was and how dedicated to her character. The rest of the cast of course were great too.

Now I have to be honest. The use of poetic language was tiring for me after a point. I also found unnecessary the use of video. I loved how it got mixed with the live performance I just think it got a little too much. Generally, despite being considered one of the greatest contemporary shows, counting over 8 awards amongst which are ''Best Play of 2015'', ''Best Leading Actress'' and ''The Karolos Koun Price for Directing in 2016'', it did not resonate with me.

The show will be on tour until the 17th of June.

Here is the trailer for you to have a taste:

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