13th Young Artists Festival "The 12 Compartments"

Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf
May 18 – June 1, 2025
Free Admission

The city’s most vibrant youth festival returns for its 13th edition!

Once again this May, for the 13th year in a row, the most vibrant artistic youth festival in the city meets its audience for a two-week celebration of young expression and creative exploration, transforming the unique Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf into a timeless incubator for emerging artists.

 

Seventeen artistic groups and young creators from Theatre, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts will present short performances (10–30 minutes) for fifteen consecutive evenings with free admission, from May 18 to June 1, 2025.

 

Since 2011, the Festival has welcomed and showcased over 1,000 artists and artistic groups, many of whom have continued their collaboration with the Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf on a professional basis. This year’s 13th edition received an overwhelming response from applicants, surpassing all previous years, increasing the need and responsibility to ensure its continuity and growth in the future.

 

The theme of this year’s festival focuses on the Human Being—on everything that defines and shapes human existence in its journey toward self-awareness. The fascinating path of life, from departure to final destination, marked by encounters, intersections, transitions, detours, reversals, and challenges, reflects the evolving trajectory of humanity through time. In our era of rapid technological acceleration, it becomes imperative to move forward in harmony with the universe of emotion, language, imagination, and empathy.

 

 

Tatiana Lygari, Artistic Director of the Festival, notes:
“We thank the hundreds of young artists for their trust in this year’s 13th Festival and the audiences who have supported them over the years. Amid the fluid global geopolitical landscape and unpredictable climate crisis, this year’s festival insists on keeping Humanity in its frame—as the only transformative force that must survive, positively influencing the planet and the precarious future of humankind. From birth to maturity, from departure to arrival, from goodbye to pause, from inquiry to discovery, the Human Being follows a unique trajectory in search of the self. They redefine their dreams, chart new paths, return and start again in an eternal inner journey toward self-knowledge and improvement. Looking toward a future increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, redefining human essence becomes necessary, and protecting all that defines it, critically urgent.”

 

The festival takes place in the distinctive carriages of the Railway Carriage Theater and on the open-air Stage of the Platform, offering artists and audiences a unique experience of creation, viewing, and coexistence in an unexpected, unconventional space.

 

All performances take place from May 18 to June 1, 2025, between 19:00 and 23:30 in a rolling program, every day for fifteen consecutive nights.

 

NAKED MOMENT – Art Exhibition
Lefki Karpodini

The continuous line – the dominant technique used by the artist in this exhibition – an uninterrupted stroke – gives shape to the white canvas in a concentrated moment of tension. At times, energy nests quietly, flows through the body, etches itself onto the face. At others, in unexpected moments, it bursts forth. It swirls into curves, breaks into angles, pulses in trembling lines. With a slow or feverish rhythm – like a musician improvising on stage – the line travels its path through time, crossing it without hesitation, without thought, without return. In the white void, only pure, unfiltered, defenseless emotion remains. A naked moment.

Opening hours: 19:00–23:30

 

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BART & PEGGY SUE – Puppet Theatre
Pinakoti

Bart and Peggy Sue meet by chance at a train station. This unexpected encounter becomes the fateful journey of their lives. Through a playful romance, they satirize the absurdity of human existence. Confronted with love, they stand awkward, clumsy, and funny – showing that all the love-struck in the world, for a moment, are equals. Performed using life-sized puppets worn and animated by the actor-puppeteers.

Concept / Direction / Animation: Danae Roussou, Nero J Puppet design: Stathis Markopoulos Sound design: Nero J

Start time: 19:00 / Duration: 17’

 

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METHOD V – Theatrical Performance
Theatre Group nunc

Welcome to the TV set of "Bon Voyage!". You can win the trip of your dreams, as long as you answer a few questions about your life correctly. But be careful! Every move counts. Every thought is evaluated. Every answer is judged. Can you prove the truth easily? Will you make it to the final destination? Play with courage and discover Method V. Don’t be afraid – here, you can only win!

Text / Direction: Theatre Group nunc Costumes: Zoi Kelessi Music: Angelos Ververis Video/Graphics: Giorgos Gkintzos, Konstantinos Chatzitheodorou Cast (alphabetically): Giorgos Gkintzos, Athanasia Kympouri, Ioanna Papadaki, Myrsini Petridi, Konstantinos Chatzitheodorou

Start time: 19:30 / Duration: 25’

 

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YUYAYYACO – Theatrical Performance
Tenderness Theamatiki

In 1999, archaeologist Johan Reinhard and his team made a major discovery at the summit of Mount Llullaillaco, on the Chile–Argentina border: the Llullaillaco Mummies, three children sacrificed to the Inca gods 500 years ago. Today, these children are museum exhibits. The performance expands the moment of passage from existence to non-existence, tracing the footprints of life left by humanity.

Concept / Direction / Dramaturgy: Tenderness Theamatiki Costumes / Art Direction: Asimina Liarmakopoulou Assistant Director: Maria Kyriakidi Cast (alphabetically): Stavroula Karalidou, Silia Bisioti, Marissa Farmaki, Faidra Chatzopoulou

Start time: 20:05 / Duration: 30’

 

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ROUTE 29 – Theatrical Performance
Reem Hatib

Life as a collection of routes. Routes that define who I am and who I’m trying to become. At 29, just before turning 30, I repeat routes I remember and remember routes I repeat – like thoughts spoken out loud. Where I feel most at home: en route.

Concept / Direction / Performance: Reem Hatib Start time: 20:10 / Duration: 15’

 

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WE’VE GOT EYES IN OUR ELBOWS – Dance Performance
Ismini Sleiper, Katerina Avramopoulou

What does it mean to truly see? What do we perceive of the world around us, and how does the world perceive us? What do we actually see, and what do we imagine? Can we understand what someone else sees? And what if the world is secretly watching us back? What would it be like if we had eyes on our elbows?

Choreography: Ismini Sleiper Performance: Ismini Sleiper, Katerina Avramopoulou

Start time: 20:35 / Duration: 20’

 

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NOI – Dance Performance
Kalia Mavrofti, Panagiotis Tasoulis

The autism spectrum inspired a choreographic exploration of different forms of communication. During the performance, the hand movements of an autistic child inspire the dancers’ movement, creating a dialogue. Does a body communicate as it can or as it wants to?

Choreography / Performance: Kalia Mavrofti, Panagiotis Tasoulis Music production: Periklis Siountas

Start time: 20:55 / Duration: 14’

 

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FRAGMENTS OF ETERNITY: A REFLECTIVE SYMPHONY ON THE EXPERIENCE OF EXISTENCE – Music-Theatre Performance
Tasos Theofilatos

A nameless traveler, with no destination, confronts time. Fragments from the poetry of T. S. Eliot and Walt Whitman lead him into a silent redefinition. There, at the still point of the turning world, where the rose and the fire become one.

Concept / Original Music / Performance: Tasos Theofilatos

Start time: 21:10 / Duration: 30’

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NERÓ – Live Music
Nikoleta Kitsiou

Starting with the authenticity of street art, Nikoleta Kitsiou brings her original songs from her official discography in an artistic-pop style full of immediacy, unique timbre, passion, and free expression.

Vocals: Nikoleta Kitsiou Guitar: Dafni Asimina

Start time: 21:10 / Duration: 20’

 

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GRIDS – Poetry Slam & Spoken Word Performance
Garoufalia Stetou

Oral presentation of five original poems without music (slam), and with music (spoken word), in a visual environment featuring the creator’s sketches.

Performance / Recitation: Garoufalia Stetou

Start time: 21:15 / Duration: 15’

 

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SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE – Dance Performance
Kon/nos Argyriou Evangeloudis

A choreographic study on loneliness and companionship. Through five feminine bodies in continuous motion, the timeless struggle between self-determination and belonging is explored.
“One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don’t come home at night.” – Margaret Mead

Creation / Choreography: Kon/nos Argyriou Evangeloudis Costume Design: Francesco Infante
Performers: Danae Giannakakou, Eirini Kallianioti, Mara Tsourma, Konstantina Kalliantasi, Iphigenia Papathanasi

Start time: 21:40 / Duration: 15’

 

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CREATING WORLDS – BOÎTE EDITION – Live Music
Natalia Routsolia

In a bohemian cabaret setting, singer-songwriter Natalia Routsolia offers a taste of her discography and favorite covers with poetic lyrics, musical diversity, touches of jazz, neoromantic pop, and traditional elements.

Vocals: Natalia Routsolia
Guitar: Giorgos Lanaras

Start time: 21:45 / Duration: 30’

 

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ANOTHER LAND – Dance Performance
DANCE Athens

Seven dancers bring to life a journey through time and history, expressing personal and collective paths with their bodies. Through constant transformation, they seek identity and balance in a dialogue between personal and collective experience.

Choreography / Direction: Ilias Bayeorgos Costume Design: Francesco Infante Curation / Dramaturgy: Kon/nos Argyriou Evangeloudis Performers: Ilektra Vosou, Christina Gaki, Eleni Markou, Youli Banousi, Sofia Panousi, Andrianna Stavrou, Elena Tsikala

Start time: 21:55 / Duration: 12’

 

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PROJECT HUMAN – Dance Performance
Faidra Soutou

In a world where human rights are irrationally violated, in a post-pandemic era that revealed the power imbalance, PROJECT HUMAN explores existence using only the body. Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Auguste Rodin’s sculptures, the piece emphasizes that all humans are equal in their right to a free life.

Direction / Choreography / Performance: Faidra Soutou Dramaturgy: Faidra Soutou, Giorgos Stavrianos Music: William Antoniou Visual Environment: Alegia Papageorgiou Artistic Partner / Voice-over: Giorgos Stavrianos

Start time: 22:10 / Duration: 15’

 

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HOW CAN YOU NOT HEAR THE TRAINS? – Theatrical Performance
Group 0.5

A story for those who left and those who remain. From “I haven’t received his letter” to “text when you arrive.” We’re all passengers on the same train. Destination known, purpose dreaded. You don’t hear them? How can you not hear them? A performance about memory, loss, and the terror of waiting – where the journey is not a choice. Based on true events.

Text: Christos Balagiannis Concept / Dramaturgy / Direction: Group 0.5 Original Music: Christos Balagiannis, Vaggelia Tsitakidou Lighting: Christos Balagiannis Cast: Nikolas Agapiou, Dafni Kakali, Christos Balagiannis, Vicky Choudalaki, Tzortzis Chortarias

Start time: 22:25 / Duration: 25’

 

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SEARCHING FOR MEANING – Rap Performance
FES & DJ 2 Delta

The “Searching for Meaning” set is a deep introspection of the human soul and its struggle with itself. Confronting life and truth, the individual is forced to choose, reevaluate, understand, accept, and ultimately discover themselves.

On stage: FES & DJ 2 Delta

Start time: 22:30 / Duration: 15’

 

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BLAME: AN ODE TO MURDER – Theatrical Performance
MASH

A theatrical anti-musical with dark humor inspired by Kafka’s short story A Fratricide. The murder causes no horror – it is predetermined and executed without questions or explanations. The perpetrator leaves, the act is done, life goes on.

Text: Franz Kafka Translation / Adaptation / Dramaturgy / Direction: MASH (Katerina Anastasiou & Christos Kapenis) Art Direction: Kostas Gogas Original Music / Soundscape: Katerina Anastasiou Cast: Christos Kapenis, Katerina Anastasiou

Start time: 23:00 / Duration: 15’

 

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FREE ADMISSION
Entry tickets are required. Ticket distribution begins daily at 18:30 at the Railway Carriage box office. Max. 3 tickets per person per day, subject to availability.

 

VENUE
Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf
Konstantinoupoleos Ave. & Amphipoleos, Rouf Railway and Suburban Station
10’ walk from METRO station Kerameikos
Free outdoor parking

 

INFO
Production Office: +30 210 9237076
Theater: +30 210 5298922, +30 6937604988
theater@totrenostorouf.gr

 

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