Performances

The end of the 1950s. A courtyard, in a working-class neighborhood of Athens, is the meeting point of various characters from different backgrounds: an old refugee from Asia Minor who sleeps on the rooftop loaded with his mattresses; his wife who calls her lost grandson holding a slice of bread in her hand, a widow; a dreamer; a young couple at times hugging and at times quarreling, while planning to move to Australia; the neighborhood’s beauty who dreams of becoming a movie star; a plumber who will play a decisive role in the story.
This small space is home to all Greeks. Just before it collapses, a question arises: Are we experiencing a dead-end situation or a miracle?

“The Backyard of Miracles is based on the lack of stability and the sense of insecurity that characterises the life of Greek people. Everything in Greece goes up and down, flows, and changes. The common desire of Greeks is to settle somewhere, to make sure things are stable”, as highlighted by Iakovos Kambanellis in the first historical performance of the play in 1957 by the Greek Art Theatre Karolos Koun.
A play, which 60 years after its first performance remains timeless, is now brought to the stage by the National Theatre of Northern Greece with new songs composed by Dionysis Tsaknis and lyrics written by Lina Nikolakopoulou.