The Theatrical Greek Group THESPIS in collaboration with the Greek Community of Brussels presents the satirical comedy of Iakovos Kambanellis, «The four legs of the table» (in Greek with surtitles EN-FR).

The play is dedicated to the following theatre practitioners: the playwright IAKOVOS KAMBANELLIS, undisputed patriarch of the post-war Greek theatre, on the occasion of the 100+1th anniversary of his birth; ΙΟANNIS EKONOMIDIS, director and author, whose theatrical career was launched with this play staged in Brussels in 1991. He later went on to become one of the most important theatre-makers in town, his overall theatrical activity often drawing attention to and exploring the work of Kambanellis. VASOS ANDRONIDIS, brilliant actor of the Greek theatre and also theatre teacher, who first transmitted his knowledge and love for theatre and for ourselves when this play was first staged in Brussels in 1991– he was our maître à penser and a selfless patron of the Greek theatre in Belgium for many years.
The fourth performance (Sunday 28 May 2023, 6 pm), also open to the public, is dedicated to the Greek Community of Brussels, as an acknowledgement of its support throughout the years, but also as an overdue fulfilment of a promise made to Iakovos Kambanellis to stage «one more performance for the Greek Community», a promise made to him when he attended the performance in 1991 – the only time he visited Brussels. 
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Athens 1978. The four sons and three daughters of the 99-year-old distillery industrialist, Asimakis Kavalas, still present on stage but mute as a statue have come to see him, some from a long way away and perhaps for the last time - although they will be told that «he still has many good years ahead of him». Through the prism of the intrigues surrounding inheritance squabbles, the economic and social situation in Greece is presented in a lively and imaginative way. The whiner Aliki (Tina Hadjithoma), the wily elder Kostas (Tasos Filippidis/Giorgis Katalagarianakis), the subversive tough guy Toni (Vassilis Magnis), the dynamic divorcee with a sharp tongue Mary (Kantiana Petri), Irini the «foreigner» (Lambrini Garmpi), the big-hearted loudmouth with a fondness for parties George (George Maglis), the dark Manos (Kostis Yeraris/Paris Kaklamanos), the grumpy 93-year-old aunt, an icon of three generations, suffering from dementia (Despina Saltouridou), the father whose moods follow the ups and downs of the stock market (Dimos Angeloussis), the young nurse (Savina Sinopidou), will keep you company for two hours. 
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The 1991 performance of the Greek Theatre Workshop of the European Institutions, directed by I. Economidis, marked a turning point in the history of Greek theatre in Brussels: On the one hand, it put the spotlight on the work of I. Economidis. On the other hand, it introduced Iakovos Kambanellis and the professional actor Vasos Andronidis to the Greek community of Brussels for the first time. The disagreements that broke out after the end of these performances led to the creation of the second Greek theatrical company, still active today, the Hellenic Theatre of Belgium (1992). This, in turn, acted as a catalyst for an explosion of Greek theatrical performances in Brussels, with the creation of 8 (and counting) Greek theatrical companies and the frequent staging of plays by Athenian theatrical companies, as well as companies coming from other countries. This centrifugal tendency is now balanced by the close cooperation of all the groups, with harmonised programmes, with young actors and directors, with exchanges of actors and artistic collaborators, especially stimulated by the joint celebration of World Theatre Day in March every year since 2018. We enthusiastically support this development. The actors of the 1991 performance (see photo, from left to right: Maria Patakia, Rania Sarafidou, Giorgos Andronidis, Artemis Menounou, Petros Pipilis, Aristeidis Lavrentzos, Evi Oikonomidi, Lilly Lambrelli, Apostolos Ioakimidis and, in the middle, Giorgos Strongylis), with the exception of a few who have resettled in Greece, and GIORGOS ANDRONIDIS, who left us forever in 2018, will be present in our performance.
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Kambanellis' mastery makes us laugh a lot, but also makes us reflect on the pathologies of Greek society. The «four legs of the Table» are not so much a metaphor for the four sons of the family (the family is also made up of three daughters and an aunt), but symbolise the shaky foundations upon which Greece was entering the modern era: characterised as it was by a one-sided reading of history and a culture steeped in songs such as «Birbili», a value system plagued by secret surveillance and hatred towards workers, an economy of accumulation with no long-term prospects and an indifference towards the needs and opinions of the young. The rigid father figure resembles a tabletop, lifeless as a statue and devoid of a future. Can the twisted, short, uneven legs of the table carry the weight of its heavy, fragile top?
This staging of Kambanellis’ play is a trilingual production (a world first): actors performing in Greek, with surtitles in English and French (from our recent translations). 

Entrance:
17€ & 12€ (reduced)
Tickets sale/reservation:
u: Vivaevent
u: ekbru.be/thespis/
e: thespis.theatre@gmail.com
m: 0475 902701(Aristide Lavrentzos)
Périple a: rue Froissart 115, 1040 Bxl t: 02 2309335