CRITICAL REVIEWS

“I give special distinction to the exceptionally interesting script by Makis Tsitas, which deals with the 1960s and entitled “Not one day.” A remarkable find, a hair-raising monologue, aesthetically impeccable and ideologically disruptive. This multi-talented, oft-translated and widely-awarded writer of prose has a healthy, realistic sense of the dramatic and knows how to use the everyday onstage in the best possible manner. Whatever is poetic is ‘magic’ only at a deeper level, while on the surface a rationality prevails that is nearly Aristotelian.”
Konstantinos Bouras, grafei.wordpress.com, 27/01/20

“In the text by Makis Tsitas, the heroine, Vera, a singer who left for Germany and changed her name, hears one of her songs on the radio and, through a statement from the Red Cross, learns that her relatives in Greece are seeking her. Still, things are never what they appear to be and the surprise at the end raises numerous questions. It is a text with rhythm and humor that aptly incorporates, but without shouting, numerous social and actual events of the era (the end of the 1960s), but also shows how each individual has either closed (or not) the door on the past and what exactly they were seeking from it.”
Olga Sella, popaganda.gr, 07/02/20

“Iro Bezou, bubbly and refreshing, is the great surprise of the play. As a Greek woman singer who has left for Germany, because she felt insulted in her own country, splendidly brings together fear and bitterness with a yearning for life and supreme joy in Makis Tsitas’ clever text.
Marianthi Kounia, parapolitika.gr, 17/02/20

Critical Reviews

“The enfant terrible of Greek literature, Makis Tsitas, strikes again with his latest theater piece; original, strong and very timely, just like his previous work God Is My Witness. Here he has presented five one-act plays that illuminate the human qualities of the person next door, but in the process reveal the tragic state of our personal relations with others in the world today. The performance, directed by the outstanding teacher, director and actress Roula Pateraki, confirms that which we already know: madness is contagious and lethargy is a feature of our age.”
Nikos Batsikanis, criticscorner.gr, 10/06/19

“With frank descriptions and occasional abstraction, through the conflicts of familiar situations and unexpected outcomes, as well as the laconic nature of conversation, The General challenges us to take a look at ourselves naked in the mirror, to look at our obsessions and our psychoses in the eye, our weaknesses and our mistakes, to think, to laugh, and – above all – to play.
[…] Roula Pateraki directs with a well-balanced inventiveness.”
Marion Choreanthi, fractalart.gr, 22/05/19

“Because M. Tsitas does not condemn his characters, but rather the situations which debase a person and the routines that suppress our resistance to the evil, to the bad and to the profane. The imaginative direction of Roula Pateraki brings to life the intentions of the author, confronting the audience with a social problem and calls on them to take a position. Let’s not forget that theater, from the time of its birth, served as a school and as a voice of resistance to any form of authority.”
Anthoula Daniil, frear.gr, 21/05/19

“Everything is magically transformed on the stage by the protagonists themselves who, in addition to their excellent performances, perform a recital, demonstrate a harmonic movement, themselves changing the stage settings and transforming the space onstage. And that is due to the directional guidance of the experienced lady of the theater, Roula Pateraki, who reveals both the inspiration and the inventive plot of the author.”
Maria Kotopouli, Peri Ou, 18/05/19

“Makis Tsitas is original and primal. With a genuine dramatic bent that was apparent from his early childhood, but also in his first award-winning novel with the emblematic title God is My Witness, and which was staged with great success as a theater production and so paved the way for the start of a new and successful career...
“In this particular drama, with its cyclical repetitions that break the linearity of time and shake up the static nature of the conventional urban theater, the narrative passes from transition to transition like a theatrical game with an intense improvisational quality, although once again Roula Pateraki performed a miracle by raising this work to a remarkable theatrical production.”
Konstantinos Bouras, grafei.wordpress.com, 17/05/19

“Even as much as modern Greek theater has disappointed us -- with two or three sensational exceptions that prove the rule -- at least with respect to its two basic pillars: playwriting and directing-acting, this particular production raises both hope and morale. At some point something remarkable always emerges that lifts us from this feeling of destitution.”
Thanassis Liakopoulos, popaganda.gr, 14/05/19

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Critical Reviews

“Rarely does a monologue satisfy so completely. Such enthusiasm, such bitterness, such frustration, but also such sympathy and compassion. In short, the viewer will identify with the hero.”
Pavlos Lemontzis, Epi Skinis, 06/02/19

“With his novel God Is My Witness, Makis Tsitas has become a part of the pantheon of classic Greek writers – without his knowing, of course. The text never lies: all of us, the innumerable readers of the novel, recognize Chrysovalantis, the central hero and narrator, in front of our very eyes as a living character. But the tireless Iosif Iosifides, under Sophia Karagianni’s felicitous and balanced direction, beats every previous embodiment of the hero, delivering the role of the emblematic Chrysovalantis in a flawless manner. The play is running, not without reason, for the third consecutive year at the Vault Theater.”
Pela Soultatou, Frear, 28/12/17

“Anton Chekov’s The Dangers of Tobacco Smoking, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot and our own Georigios Viziinos and Alexandros Papadiamantis seem to, consciously or unconsciously, serve as the models for Makis Tsitas’s exemplary hero, who emerges as a first-class dramatic hero thanks to the outstanding and exuberantly vivid performance of Iosif Iosifidis. His dramatic performance is worthy of not only a Greek award, but of an international one, since his performance manages to depict the hero down to the last breath, the last hesitation, and the slightest almost imperceptible stiffness. A hero he seems to love completely and unconditionally. Because without love, novels will not and cannot be dramatized.”
Konstantinos Bouras, Grafein, 05/09/16

“An amazing performance, mainly for three reasons: Brilliant material, successful staging by Sophia Karagianni and her assistant director, Myrto Athanasopoulou, and an awe-inspiring performance by Iosif Iosifidis. In this enjoyable monologue, Makis Tsitas’s text acquires flesh and bone thanks to the actor’s expressive capacities.”
Nikos Batsikanis, Palmografos.com, 26/05/16

“The director Sophia Karagianni’s approach to the hero was ingenious… Iosif Iosifidis performance was amazing… He treats both the dramatic and comical elements of this work in a brilliant manner, flawlessly performing the quick and constant shifts in the character.”
Irini Angeliki Mitsi, Bookia, 05/12/15

“This is a brilliant text starring an anti-hero, Chrysovalantis, an unemployed typographer in his fifties at a time of prosperity just before the Olympic Games of 2004. He is a sad little man, meticulous, inhibited, religious, a xenophobe, a brothel-regular… this is the tragedy of a ridiculous man, and Iosif Iosifidis breathes life into this utterly frustrated innocent with the skill of an accomplished actor, burning this character indelibly into our memory. You have to see him!”
Giorgos Sarigiannis, To tetarto koudouni, 03/12/15

“God Is My Witness: A masterpiece for a country both comical and tragic.”
Nikos Bovolos, provocateur.gr, 03/11/15

“The inventive director highlights the best of an award-winning text by an insightful author (EUPL 2014), as well as the performance of Iosif Iosifidis, who undertook the heavy load of embodying a character that could have easily become disgusting, and perhaps even revolting.”
Lila Papapaschou, Allios magazine, 02/02/15

“God Is My Witness impresses its audiences with the originality of its topic and the gradual development of its plot, as much as it does with the shape of its central character. As for Iosif Iosifidies, there are no words to describe him… He is a brilliant actor with a rich arsenal of expressive capabilities, which he uses with absolute accuracy and honesty.”
Fotini Papadaki, Paraskinio newspaper, 26/01/15

“We have to emphasize the fact that the brilliantly written monologue is based on Makis Tsitas’s novel by the same name (which was awarded the 2014 European Union Prize for Literature), and was adapted for the stage by the author himself. We were impressed by Iosif Iosifidis’s performance and particularly by the incredible ups and downs of the hero, whom the actor literally wears like a second skin. Sophia Karagianni’s direction, frugal and to the point, allows us to get to know the hero in depth, without exaggeration and superfluous interventions. The scenery, ideal for the text, lets the hero shine and the actor efficiently use his expressive capacities in their entirety.”
Sin Radio, 18/01/15

“This is a demanding play, exceptionally performed by the entire creative team of the GAFF theater company. Chrysovalantis is yet another important hero who has enriched the corpus of Theatrical Monologues.”
Maria Kotopouli, Culturenow.gr, 12/01/15

“Each new word of this fluent monologue, sprung from Makis Tsitas’s word-forming talent, on the lips of Chrysovalantis contains neither hubris nor a persistent search, but rather just another element that makes him singular, worthy of standing beside the great literary figures of the international stage.”
Eleni Lintzaropoulou, matrix24.gr, 18/12/14

“Sophia Karagianni’s direction is brilliant and Iosif Iosifidis’s performance awe-inspiring and powerful, just like the work itself. The actor seems to have perfectly located Chrysovalantis, since he embodies his thoughts and words as if they were his own.”
Evi Kouka, EvArt, 13/12/14

“Iosif Iosifidis has already worn this role like a second skin; he seals his already awe-inspiring performance with a heartbreaking break-down, a denouement of both body and soul, that redeems one through the insanity of its pain.”
Marion Choreanthi, Popaganda.gr, 11/12/14

“It is rare that a performance can take your heart and head by the hand and make you simultaneously think and feel, to carry our thoughts and feelings within you as you leave the theater. Chrysovalantis, Makis Tsitas’s hero, embodied by Iosif Iosifidis, strikes you from the very first moment when you see him pray.”
Artemis Kapoula, Protagon.gr, 25/11/14

“An amazing monologue, prophetic for the time it was written, glues the audience to its seat.”
Anthoula Daniil, Freaf magazine, 14/11/14

“Karagianni has created a landmark performance. Her most precious tool is Iosif Iosifidis, an actor of irrefutable talent who offers, once again, a virtuoso performance in a particularly difficult role. He shifts from the comical to the dramatic and from speaking softly to screaming with outstanding ease. I recommend this play unreservedly!”
Maria Kyriaki, Epi Skinis, 12/11/14

“The life and course of Chrysovalantis represent the Greece of today. I was looking forward to this performance for quite a while, and the result was way beyond my expectations. You should definitely see it, and you will understand a lot about the things which you do not understand.”
Pitsirikos, 10/11/14

“The encounter between Makis Tsitas’s literary talent, Sophia Karagiannis’s directorial sensitivity and Iosif Iosifidis’s acting skills, offers us a play that is enjoyable, funny, moving and rich in meaning. In the course of the 75 minutes the play lasts, the spectator walks, alongside Chrysovalantis, from misery to the madness of euphoria, from fear to holy indignation, from lust to religiosity, from love to betrayal.”
Eleni Litzaropoulou, Athens Voice

“This is a monologue that conveys loudly the thoughts all of us think; it is a comical slap that wounds contemporary Greeks more than anything. Almost nude at the end of the play, the scent of incense his sole cover, the hero vanishes into the light.”
Chrysa Lykou, musiccorner.gr