At short notice, Evi Stamatiou is repeating her show based on the Caryatid from the Acropolis

I first heard of Evi Stamatiou when she performed her show Caryatid Unplugged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Intrigued by the concept behind the show, I also later conducted an interview with her, which you can read here.

Now, with very short notice (due to copyright issues with the planned play), Caryatid Unplugged is going to be at the Rosemary Branch Theatre in London from 29 June to 1 July.

You can book tickets on the Theatre’s website or find more details about this event on the Facebook Page.

Based originally against the backdrop of the Greek financial crisis and Europeans living in other European countries, the event promises to be particularly topical due to the current chaos surrounding Britain’s referendum to leave the EU.

I have already written a few days ago about the performance by Evi Stamatiou at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The performance is entitled Caryatid Unplugged & focuses on the return of the Parthenon Sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) in the British Museum to Greece, although, as you will discover, it is about far more than just this.

She is far from the first person to be captivated by the sole caryatid that sits alone in the British Museum, far from her sisters, with other notable examples being Dennis Menos’s book written from her perspective & Mary Philips who performed a protest outside the British Museum dressed as a Caryatid.

I had a chance to talk with Evi about Caryatid Unplugged and to ask her a bit more about her thoughts on the Marbles & what inspired her to develop this show:

Elginism: Hi Evi, first of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself & your background.

Evi Stamatiou: I was born in 1980 in Ioannina, Epirus. I moved to Athens for studies in 1999 and then to London in 2010. My parents were both born in Ioannina, second generation of Greek expats returning to Greece after the Second World War from France, Russia and Northern Epirus. My father, Alexandros highly appreciated the arts and Ancient Greek Culture. When he died in 2001, I decided to change career and devote myself to theatre, as a way to keep a connection with him.

I am now based in London and work as a theatre practitioner and educator. I have ten years of international professional experience. In 2010 I established in Athens Upopirates Theatre Company and won a distinction at Off Off At Colonus Theatre Festival for my performance Thinking About Jean Genet’s Tightrope. Since 2011 I am a HE Lecturer and Course Coordinator at Wessex Academy of Performing Arts in England. I am also a member of Lincoln Centre Theatre Directors Lab.

Elginism: Have you always had strong views on the Parthenon Marbles, or is it a more recent thing?
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Evi Stamatou is a Greek based in London. She is appearing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with a performance entitled Caryatid Unplugged. Here, she aims to tell the story of the caryatid in the British Museum – something that has fascinated many people, capturing people’s attention in a different way to the other Parthenon Sculptures, perhaps because she is the most human like & easy for people to relate to.

There is a short trailer for the performance on Youtube.

From:
Kickstarter

Exploring art, immigration and the female body. The Caryatid story via burlesque, clowning, physical comedy. Traditional Greek music.

Your support for the following project is very important in order to manage to perform Caryatid Unplugged for the full run of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013. There has been great effort from the creative team and we are very close to reaching our goal. Support our attempt to a make a performance that is a playful forum for social and political discussion.

In the June 2011 debate on whether to return the Ancient Parthenon marbles to Greece, David Cameron tells Parliament that ‘Britain has no intention to lose its marbles’.
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