Festival 2024

The ANTI-SKINO Outdoor Festival, organized every year since 2017, returns this year to the enchanting Kato Pyrgos of Tylliria. With the aim of promoting theatrical and performing arts activities in the open air, the festival invites us to discover the wonders of our island, while enjoying a variety of artistic activities next to the sea. ANTI-SKINO maintains its identity, by giving priority to the promotion of Cypriot artists, while constantly enriching its programme with new ideas and actions. This year’s theme, “Utopia”, offers artists the opportunity to present their vision of an ideal society, covering topics such as society, economy, politics and the environment. This year the festival again promises an unforgettable experience for all visitors. Find out more about the full programme below

1:00 PM

Welcome

3:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Woven Wishes: A Tapestíy of Utopia

Parallel event

Behnaz Fazelian (Visual Artist, Finland) in collaboration with Nasia Kelepesi, (Performer, Cyprus) and Georgia Andreou, (Choreographer & dancer, Cyprus) in the framework of the European Project ALTER EGO

An interactive artwork designed to engage the festival audience in a collective exploration of their dreams and aspirations. By inviting participants to write their wishes on a shared piece of fabric and decorate it with wool and embroidery threads, we aim to create a living mosaic that symbolizes the diverse and interconnected visions of a utopian future.

8:00 PM - 8:35 PM

E N D O S C O P Y ~ Grigoris Cristodoulou (35’)

Young Artists in Stage, Experimental stage

There have been many ways of saying how we can change the world, which could be described as unattainable and utopian. However, the process of changing ourself has rarely been discussed – a realistic goal- which if pursued, the utopia would have already have been created.

This performance includes speech, poetry, physical theatre and song. A character on stage shares thoughts, concerns, experiences and dreams. The performance will address the fast pace of modern day life and the affection we often forget to show to ourselves, leading to mental illnesses such as anxiety disorder and hypochondriasis. It will present stimulus from the environment that affect a person, and their attempt to cope with it.

9:00 PM - 9:50 PM

Presence (light) (in EN) ~ Melissa Zanga (50')

Performance

Using tools such as poetry, music and performance art (action performance) Melissa is ready to let herself out of the boxes that have constricted her and allow herself the freedom to speak and act following the flow and without filters. Life has made it clear that we can no longer turn away from everything we have been avoiding. We live in the shadow of political corruption and in a system that benefits only some and ignores or subjugates others. We have lost our natural free expression, our joy and our integrity and we are too exhausted to have compassion for each other. The conditions of life are forcing us to look at what we have been blind to, both internally and in society as a whole. With this performance Melissa wants to eliminate the comfort of pre-designing and rehearsing so she can show up exposed and honest with her emotions and the truth of the moment. She wants to use the performance as a ritual to express grief, anger and explore being with discomfort so that she can ultimately return to my core values of joy, pleasure and community.

10:00 PM - 10:50 PM

Seven Jewish Childíen ~ Nikoletta Panayiotou (50’)

A project for Gaza by Caryl Churchill

Μονόλογος- Experimental stage – Political Theater

Caryl Churchill’s play Seven Jewish Children (A Play for Gaza) was first performed in 2009 at the Royal Court Theatre in London. It was written in response to the intensive bombing of Gaza in 2008-2009 by the state of Israel.

Fourteen years later, Gaza is (already) several days and nights of bombardment, with a tragic toll: over 10,000 dead, the majority of them children and women.

The monologue speaks about history, the falsification of it by the victors, and what each of us should or should not tell our children, of the next generation.

Nicoletta Panayiotou, driven by a need to make the righteous slogan “Freedom in Palestine” heard beyond the protesters around the world and artists, (who in her view have a duty to take a stand on the political issues of their time), has translated, adapted and directed this moving play by Caryl Churchill. Touching on difficult issues with honesty and affection, the author’s poetic text forces the viewer to perceive silence as complicity, at the same time that in their neighbourhood for decades a nation has been facing a modern-day apartheid, at the same time that a genocide is taking place.

11:00 PM - 12:00 AM

The Looper Pop up Artist Project ~ Anna Chrysanthou (60')

Musical performance

Utopia – When imperfect people attempt perfection – personal, political, economic and social – they fail. (Thomas More)

A performance based on experimenting while performing. Based on the idea of an artist who is an instrumentalist and singer, trying to combine his arts in existing songs and original compositions. Pieces made and built on the spot, in front of the audience with a guitar, percussion, voice and vocals, keyboards and sound effects in the most interactive form of a performance where the artist composes the song live from scratch using loops.

In the performance you will hear traditional Cypriot songs, stories, Anna’s original songs, and songs that we know but whose musical-historical value is not diminished in the process of experimentation.

11:00 AM

Morning activities

4:00 PM -5:30 PM

Collective Musical Experience ~ Paloma Català-Parga (90')

(Musician, Finland) in the framework of the European Project ALTER EGO

A collective musical experience inspired by the flows of Música do Círculo is a workshop. Música do Círculo is a collective musical improvisation encounter based on cycles, using the music of the body (singing, percussion and kinetic instruments), which is structured around musical games linked in flow and carries the principles of collaboration and dialogue. A cycle that creates interaction, connection and creativity where all are welcome and invited to express and relate to each other with integrity, presence and affection.

6:00 PM - 6:45 PM

What about the bodies ~ Georgia Andreou (45')

Performance resulted by the kinesiology workshop

During meetings, an exchange was developed between people and exchanges on concepts such as respect, love, understanding, concession, interest, freedom of expression and action.

Methods such as dialogue, improvisation, meditation, writing exercises, recording experiences and other mainly kinesthetic actions allowed this exploration and helped the group to work on the importance of changing, deciding, growing and regenerating in my own voice.

The workshop was a journey that gave space to the bodies to free themselves, at least for a while, from habits and from memory patterns they carry.

The result of these sessions is a performance in which the performers were participating in.

7:00 PM - 7:20 PM

ROOMS: C 'est la vie~ Miria Argirou (20')

Myria Argyrou presents the story of a little girl growing up and trying to get rid of sexism and social stereotypes. The play captures everyday concerns and reflections, highlighting the transition from childhood to adulthood.

7:20 PM - 7:45 PM

ROOMS: Sweet Nightmare ~ Nasia Kelepesi (25’)

Contemporary performance

Through “Sweet Nightmare”, Nasia Kelepeshi presents a performance that highlights a woman’s attempt to adapt to the social stereotypes and rules of patriarchal society. Using beautiful and sensual movements, objects and music, she creates images full of contrasts on stage, exploring the tension between dream and nightmare.

7:45 PM - 8:05 PM

ROOMS: 'Τίνος είσαι εσύ;' ~ Natalia Panyiotou (20’)

Mentor: Maria Ioli Karolidou

Artistic curation: Stelios Theocharous

Natalia Panagiotou, through her solo work, raises questions about how our identity and our lives are defined. She explores the root of identity definition and the role of the patriarchal system, with an emphasis on the position of women. With humour and a direct approach, she invites the audience into a dialogue.