31 October 2025
1953
Christodoulos Panayiotou
1953 is a dramaturgical exercise in three acts, grounded in the facticity of the present. It seeks to reimagine the Rialto Theatre as a unified, fluid space, dissolving the boundaries between stage and auditorium, inside and outside, day and night. From sunset to sunrise, the performance unfolds as a shifting landscape where the dramatised and the real are interwoven, transforming Rialto into a site of continuous mutation through a counterpoint of actions, voices, and images.
Spanning 15 hours, from dusk to dawn, the work traces a path from the detail to the collective, confronting the very limits of theatrical experience in time. 1953, the year of birth of scenographer Valentino Joseph and Julie the elephant, sets the coordinates of a composition that mobilises numerous contributors through a wide spectrum of collaborations and technological means.
Concept – Direction: Christodoulos Panayiotou
Lighting Design: Stephanos Droussiotis
Music Curation: Androula Kafa
Sound Engineer: Orestis Konis
Dramaturgy – Texts: Nicolas Stylianou & Marios Constantinou
Movement Coordination: Alexis Vassiliou
Set Design Supervision: Andreas Antoniou
Set Assistant (for “Valentino’s House”): Kyriakos Kyriakides
Production Assistant: Theodoros Tzanetakis
Stage Caller: Seta Astreou-Karides
Stage Director: Andreas Pavlou
Second Stage Director: Yiangos Hadjiyiannis
Technical Supervision of Production: Lex Gregoriou
Production Manager and Coordinator: Sofronis Sofroniou
With (among others): Valentino Joseph, Stela Phyrogeni, Elena Topalidou, Androula Kafa, Christina Vantzou, Kristia Michael, Mihalis Shammas & The Pendulum Instrument, John Also Bennett, Alexandros Pissourios, Angelos Charalambous, Christina Olympiou, Sofronis Sofroniou, Loizos Olympios, Andre Zivanari, Kyriakos Kyriakides, Limassol Philharmonic Orchestra, The Amalgamation Choir.
Presented by The Island Club in the framework of the Art Explora Festival and Limassol Art Walks, with the collaboration of the Rialto Theatre and Pylon Art & Culture.
Photos: Demetris Loutsios, Art Explora Festival Limassol & Nikita Shubney, 2025.