MANOLIS / HEART IN FOUR STRINGS Set for National Theatre of Northern Greece This Month

After the great success of their play "The Cenci Family" at the THE TANK in Manhattan, playwrights Ioli Andreadi and Aris Asproulis return to Greece and specifically to Thessaloniki City to present at The National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG) their new play " Manolis / Heart in Four Strings' ", a play dedicated to Manolis Chiotis, directed by Ioli Andreadi. Manolis Chiotis is the famous pioneer Greek musician, composer and performer who in the 60s performed in popular clubs around New York and the greater US and at he was even invited to the White House by US President Lyndon B. Johnson to perform on his birthday, who also offered him the Green Card to live and work in the US for as long as he wishes!

‘Manolis / Heart in Four Strings' is a new original theatrical work about Greek singer and composer Manolis Chiotis, written by Ioli Andreadi and Aris Asproulis, and presented by The National Theatre of Northern Greece (NTNG) in its world premiere on Friday, November 29 at the Lazariston Monastery (Socrates Karantinos Stage) in Thessaloniki, directed by Ioli Andreadi.

A work that digs deep into the soul of the brilliant and pioneering musician, composer and performer and communicates directly with the heart of those in love, the betrayed, the abandoned or melancholic listener, healing them from the pain of the human condition.

On a magical stage, in a world between reality and dream, Manolis Chiotis and the people close to him in life, speak in the first singular. They confess. Not rumors. Not false stories. They confess the core of the ethos and the universe that this great artist was. A core marked by loss, pain, envy, hard work, but also success, recognition, inspiration, love, boldness, trailblazing, honesty, and humanity.

The performance follows the life of Manolis Chiotis from birth to his death, with key stages and great moments in his artistic career, but also in his personal life, where, privately, the contact of man with the divine is judged and whether each person received and gave that share of love for which he was destined.

Including important songs, such as ‘Perasmenes mou Agapes' (‘My Past Loves'), ‘Iliovasilemata' (‘Sunsets'), ‘O Pasatempos' (‘The Pastime'), ‘To Garsoni' (‘The Waiter'), ‘Svise ti Floga' (‘Extinguish the Flame'), ‘Apopse Fila Me' (‘Tonight Kiss Me'), ‘Miazis kai Si San Thalasa' (‘You, Too, Resemble the Sea') and other great hits, an ensemble of actors and musicians dives into the soul of the legendary Manolis Chiotis. There, where real and theatrical time are intertwined, the voices of the living and the dead sound equally and

WHO ARE IOLI ANDREADI AND ARIS ASRPOULIS?

Ioli Andreadi, theatre and performance director, playwright, researcher, Assistant Professor at the University of Western Macedonia specializing in Theater and Education, and Aris Asproulis, playwright, Dr. of Sociology, Panteion University, Director of Communication of the Municipal Theatre of Piraeusand the historic Art Theater Karolos Koun, have co-authored 14 theatrical plays (original and adaptations) from 2015 until today, which have been staged in Greece, New York, London and Bulgaria, directed by Ioli Andreadi and having received excellent reviews. Ioli Andreadi and Aris Asproulis specialize in creating original theatrical works, based on the study of real events, through research of primary archival material; documents and publications; interviews; books; field work. They also share a deep interest in the Classics (literature, theatre,art), having adapted for the stage a three-hour version of Tolstoy'sWar and Peace, a two-hour version of Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Euripides' Ion and Helen. Their work also includes three new plays on the life and work of Antonin Artaud:Artaud / Van Gogh, The Cenci Family and Bone. All their plays have been published by Kapa Publishing House.

Since 2003, Ioli has worked as a theatre director and playwright in Greece and abroad (UK, New York, Berlin, Rome, Bulgaria), having directed 40 theatre productions. She trained as an actress at the Art Theatre Karolos Koun and she studied Directing at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (MA). Her PhD in Theatre and Performance at King's College London, was published in English by Kapa Publishing House under the title: Anastenaria: Ritual, Theatre, Performance; An Experiential Study(2020). She is a Fulbright Artist, having conducted her research on the dialogue between musical theatre and ancient tragedy in NY (NYMF, City Center Studios). She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Director's Lab as an SNF grantee. Her postdoctoral research on Antonin Artaud and Neuroscience (2015-today) is soon to be published under the supervision of Professor Cornelia Poulopoulou. Since 2015 she is teaching yoga for actors (Yoga Alliance certification). She is teachingPerformance: Theory and Practice (her book “Performance: Theory and Practice; Directing, Philosophy and Culture” was published by KPH) as a Guest Lecturer at Universities in Greece and abroad (University of Athens, University of Cyprus, King's College. London, Aberystwyth University, Brooklyn College CUNY, University of Greenwich UK) and Theatre and Education, both theoretically and practically, as an Assistant Professor at the University of Western Macedonia (her book Theatre and Education: Theory and Practice was published by Kapa Publishing House in 2023).

Since 2006, Aris has worked as a publicist of both major and experimental theatre and cultural events, national and international, in Greece, including Epidaurus and Odeon of Herodes Atticus. He is teaching Sociology of Work, Immigration and Gender in Greece and abroad (PanteionUniversity, UWM, University of Durham) and Communication of Culture at Panteion University and Artens Seminars.

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