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  • The Servant of Two Masters
DATES: 05/10/2019 – 15/12/2019
DAYS & TIMES: Wednesday at 18:00 | Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 21:00 | Sunday at 20:00
ENGLISH SURTITLES: every Friday
RUNNING TIME: 120 min. (including interval)
TICKET SALES: NTNG Box Offices (Τ. 2315 200 200) | VIVA.gr | Τ. 11876 
 
The quick-witted and cunning Truffaldino takes up residence on Thessaloniki’s Vassiliko Theatre stage from October, ready to get the audience that has shown him so much love on its feet with his adventures and his tricks. One of the most successful productions of last season, the “Servant of Two Masters” returns for a limited run so those who haven’t seen it yet can and those who have can enjoy it again.
 
A merry-go-round of misunderstandings, twists and comic situations, the work was written by the reformer of Italian comedy Carlo Goldoni who mercilessly satirizes the society of his time. It remains both a classic and highly topical. The inventive translation by Errikos Belies and creative direction of Michalis Sionas bring one of the finest comedies in the international theatre repertoire to life on stage and give the audience plenty to laugh about.
 
In the role of the Servant, Thanasis Raftopoulos.
 
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A few words about the play
A servant of two masters. Truffaldino, the cunning and resourceful blunderer and well-meaning hero of the play represents servants of every era as he serves, fools and is paid by two masters and gradually comes to play a crucial role in their lives. The characters seek love, passion and happiness in a series of comic clashes, passions and adventures... while the servant does his best to earn a crust and get by. Nothing can subdue this rebellious servant, except love...
 
 
Director’s Note
There is a sound that seems to come out of the navel, a little to the right perhaps, or sometimes the left, or many times a little below it. A sound that has us shoot a hand down to our belly, as though we want to stop it, abruptly, but we’re always too late. A sound that doesn’t respect the seriousness of a conversation or situation and which often—blast it!—chooses to make its presence felt at the worst possible time, in the pauses, in the gaps. An incredible sound which gets people into all sorts of trouble, misunderstandings, amusing situations and entanglements. And the worst thing of all is that it’s ever-present for the hungry man, there even when no one else can hear it. The “Servant of Two Masters” may well be that exact sound personified: the rumbling of an empty stomach.
   
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Press reviews of the production
 
Michalis Sionas took Errikos Belies’ translation, adapted it with enthusiasm, brought a good deal more creativity to the direction and cleverly grafted several genres onto a single production. […] Great NTNG actors in roles which reveal their acting, movement, physical and vocal talents to the full and have audiences calling for curtain call after curtain call. Everyone is exceptional, while Thanasis Raftopoulos as the servant earns an extra “bravo!”. Alexandros Ioannou is superb as the on-stage musician, while the degree to which his music is synchronized with the actors’ movements is singularly impressive.
 
Pavlos Lemontzis, Kavala Web News
 
A commedia dell’ arte in all its glory with Felliniesque elements and some truly hilarious scenes. The poor, hungry but cunning Truffaldino (the excellent Thanasis Raftopoulos) has the audience rooting for him as he gets into all sorts of mischief trying to get his hands on some money for food. […]. The actors, fully orchestrated by the director, manage to make a simple popular form into high theatre and delight audiences in the process.
 
Kyriaki Beyoglou, Ephimerida ton Syntakton
 
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A youthful company both in age and spirit, with Thessaloniki’s best director—and then some!—this is the antidote to boring, “more of the same” theatre. A production that manages to be art and hilarious. I could go on for hours about the production and the cast (one by one) who—together—set the NTNG stage alight.
Giorgos Papanikolaou, Rejected
 
Decisively directed by Michalis Sionas, who does not deconstruct Goldoni’s work but rather points out all its joints and mechanisms, highlighting the conditions that lead to deception and conflict both in the theatre and in the world outside it.

Zoi Ververopoulou, Lavart
 
The NTNG actor (Thanasis Raftopoulos) who last year put in an outstanding performance as Lucky in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” returns this year in a starring role. He is comfortable in the role of the servant, his movement is sharply honed and he seems to enjoy his every moment on stage.
 
Lemonia Vasvani, Typos Thessalonikis
 
This deconstructive and powerfully allusive re-construction of the “Servant of Two Masters” gladdens the heart [...]. The simple, smartly structured plot uses a sequence of twists to bring its author’s social critique and critical thinking to the fore. Highly imaginative direction.

Angela Mantziou, Cityportal
 
The real surprise was the performance of the young Thanasis Raftopoulos in the role of the servant Truffaldino. Remember the name, because he was truly excellent.

Olga Sella, popaganda.gr
 
Carlo Goldoni’s “Servant of Two Masters”, which the NTNG has been staging for some time now at the Theatre of the Society for Macedonian Studies, has set Thessaloniki’s theatre and artistic scene alight, so it was with high expectations that we went to see it for ourselves. Attendance seemed high, too, as looking round the auditorium we saw very few empty seats, even though the production has been running non-stop since early March last year.

Nikos Aggelis Anthis, MAKEDONIA
 
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Credits
Translation: Errikos Belies, Adaptation-Direction: Michalis Sionas, Sets- Costumes: Giannis Katranitsas, Music: Alexandros Ioannou, Movement: Edgen Lame, Lighting: Jörg Schuchardt, Masks-mask construction: Martha Foka, Director’s Assistants: Stavroula Koulouri, Eftychia Spyridaki, Set Designer’s Assistant:  Eleni Kanakidou, Production Photography: Tasos Thomoglou, Production Coordinator: Marleen Verschuuren.

With: Lila Vlachopoulou (Brighella), Giorgos Dimitriadis (Dottore), Christos Diamantoudis (Valet /Waiter), Thanasis Dislis (Waiter), Aristotelis Zacharakis (Silvio), Stefania Zora (Clarice), Georgia Kyriazi (Waiter), Eirini Kyriakou (Porter), Fani Xenoudaki (Waiter), Nikos Ortetzatos (Pantalone), Thanasis Raftopoulos (Truffaldino), Anna Sotiroudi (Beatrice), Giannis Tsemperlidis (Florindo), Anni Tsolakidou (Smeraldina)
 
On-stage musician: Georgios Madikas