Against the Different
Claudine Galea – Etienne Lepage – Maria Efstathiadi
Three authors confronted with one of the most critical issues of our time
The following spoke: Professor Konstantinos Tsoukalas
Moderated by journalist Nikos Vatopoulos

Monday 3 December at 19:00
ATHENS CONCERT HALL
Nikos Skalkottas Hall

A collaboration between the Artistic Company AXANA and the Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf with Megaron Plus. With the support of the Embassy of Canada and the Athens French Institute

Old as man, persistent as fear, always relevant and threatening in times of crisis and uncertainty, the theme of the Other, the Different, takes on violent and dark dimensions when the familiar world is overturned and mourning for the "good old times" is manifested by reactionary myopia.

Three authors: the French Claudine Galea, the Canadian Etienne Lepaz and the Greek
Maria Efstathiadi coordinated by journalist Nikos Vatopoulos – responsible for
Kathimerini's cultural department- discuss, within the framework of the Megaron Plus series of events, the fear of the other, xenophobia, suspicion towards the different, prejudices and stereotypes. Konstantinos Tsoukalas, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Athens, will intervene in the discussion.

This discussion - which takes place in collaboration with the Artistic Society AXANA and the Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf and the support of the Embassy of Canada in Greece and the French Institute of Athens - is a statement of alertness and presence of people of art and thought in the problem of xenophobia, which acquires more and more dangerous dimensions and expressions and settles in our daily lives. We are living in a time of anger and emotion, individual, social and cultural problems occupy our conscience without having found political expression. Everything around us is changing in a painful way, and on the way to a new synthesis the dangers are many: regressions, denial of provocations, mythologization of the past, obsession with intimate security, search for scapegoats, violence and witch hunts.

"The fear of the other, of the stranger, of the different is nothing new. It has always characterized all societies in all lengths and widths. However, in recent years, when memories of concentration camps of all kinds are still fresh, instead of bridges, fences are being built and a "fortress mentality" is developing rapidly, which, instead of leading to a greater sense of security, creates greater fear for those "outsiders". And with it the search for scapegoats. We don't have to look far, we only have to look around us, next to us, to see what the brutal reality is," writes Maria Efstathiadis.

And with what weapons does art face this reality?
‘.. Today we see more and more writers, artists and all kinds of creators engaging and denouncing, each in his own way, these phenomena. True Art always answers and very often precedes it. Her answers may lack the immediacy of political discourse. After all, that is not its role. Through the parallel worlds he creates, he dresses multiple identities, shows with a magnifying glass details that we avoid seeing, articulates a subversive discourse. It does not propose solutions, it does not impose, it merely reveals and reminds us. There are even times when the means she uses are wild, perhaps because it is the only way to get us out of our blissful lethargy," replies the distinguished Greek writer.

Claudine Galea, originally from Malta, grew up in Marseille and lives in
Paris. A writer who treats writing without classifications, has written plays,
novels, short stories for adults and teenagers, books for children, picture books. She studied literature and began her career as an actress, while her first texts were written for stage and radio. In 2003 she published her first novel – "Jusqu'aux ox" – in 2005 her second – "La bel echange" and recently the Patty Smith-inspired "Le corps plein d'un reve". In 2011 he was awarded the Grand Prix of literature for "Au bord" (On the brink). In Greece she first appeared with "I come from afar" which was staged at the Bios Contemporary Dramaturgy Forum in 2009.

Etienne Lepaz was born in Montreal and studied literature at the University of Montreal
Quebec in Montreal and dramaturgical writing at the National Theatre School of Canada.
Writer, translator and theatre man he first appeared in 2007 with "Theatre Catastrophe", which he wrote, directed and performed at the New Experimental Theatre of Montreal, followed by "Le marriage de Francis Camelias", for which he was awarded by the National Theatre Centre in Paris. Since then, he has continued to write and translate for the theatre and many of his plays have been translated into many languages and performed outside Canada, including "Rouge Guelle" and "L'Enclos de l'elephant".

Maria Efstathiadi, writer and translator, has been living in Paris for the past few years,
collaborates with Maison d' Antoine Vitez and represents Greece in the TER network for the
promotion of contemporary theatrical writing. Its texts have been published in many ways:
Offenders, The Invisible That Looks at You, Gloves with Hands, When the Streets, On My Way an Angel, Disobedience, Utopias, The Frozen Garden, Intruders, Demon. Her most recent novel is The Red Hotel while the oldest Almost... A film was made in 2011 in France directed by Marion Len and her play The Demon was presented at the Mousson d'Ete Festival, the Comédie Française and the Athens Festival directed by Roula Paterakis.

For the winter season 2012 – 2013, Etienne Lepaz's play "THE ELEPHANT'S SHELL", directed by Tatiana Ligari, with Manos Vakousis and Aris Tsampalikas, is presented in the WAGON THEATER of the Railway Carriage Theater to Treno sto Rouf.

For the winter season 2012 – 2013, Claudiine Galea's play "KONTOREVITHOULA... a story of today", directed by Tatiana Ligari with Elena Megreli, Panagiotis Klinis, Daphne Kafetzi.

Free entrance with priority tickets
The distribution of tickets starts at 17:30
In French with simultaneous translation