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Anastasia Balezdrova

We wanted to talk with theatre actor and director Grigoris Valtinos about the theatre and crisis. The interview, however, took on a bright political tinge, but did not stray away from theatrical themes. Moreover, as our interlocutor said, theatrical works are political. At the same time, they are directed at people’s mentality.

Mr. Valtinos, how much has the crisis affected the Greek theatre? Why is modern Greek theatre not able to get even close to the achievements of ancient theatre?

First, I would like to say that there are no major theatrical productions internationally. I mean there is an international crisis of repertoire. This is what we see, as we are concerned every year about what productions we will present to the public and read all the works offered by at least 3-4 major countries and languages - English, American, French, Italian and even Spanish. That is why I am saying it is more a crisis of dramaturgy.

I think it is due to playwrights’ confusion from this hurricane, which is destroying the people and the planet. If we look at things historically, we will see that most of the artists were more progressive. They were on the side of progress; in most cases, they belonged to the intelligentsia of the Left and were on the side of the weaker people in society. I.e. they were all that is meant by the word progressive.

I would say that conservative playwrights and those who wrote about the bourgeoisie without paying attention to the problems of the lower classes were few and far between. This, of course, does not mean that they were less talented than others were.

So, today's advanced playwrights are confused. Following the collapse of the existing socialism, as in the Soviet Union and Berlin, and the changes in China, all countries are now using the capitalist model of governance. Artists’ confusion is associated with the course of things. Theatrical works are political. Even apolitical theatre is political, since it does not take a position on any issue. Therefore, it is only logical that the inspiration and impulse to a better or different world have dried up somewhat. Because this is the work of artists: to create works against evil. Now, we see it dominating more than ever, at all levels and in all forms. This is why artists are feeling hurt and somehow frustrated because centuries of drama, poetry, literature have brought the world to this state of things. Today, there is bitterness, a depression in dramaturgy.

On the other hand, we would say that most things have already been said. This is why we constantly come back to classical works. They contain stereotypes about man, his soul, the eternal questions, problems that remain unanswered, etc.

But theatre is the product of its time. Each epoch has its own theatre. The fact that all issues have already been covered does not mean that new forms cannot be found to present them in a manner appropriate for their epoch. This is what some of the artists are trying to do. So, often you can see new colours emerging against the background of poverty, scarcity and drought.

Could the economic crisis be an opportunity for artists to return to the true values ​​of people?

The economic crisis is a major global meltdown, which I think will excite the feelings of artists. Because they see that what they have proclaimed so far, i.e. a better world with man at its centre, a just society that respects the laws and is on the side of weaker people, has now been destroyed. This vision, if you wish, has already collapsed in the worst way, taking man decades back. The rights man has gained have been seized and now, man has been brought back to the beginning, to the position of a proletarian, of a man who has no chance in life. This is the result of the capitalist system, which according to Marx had within itself the seeds of its destruction already at the time of its birth. Flour was swelling until it burst. We found that there was no dough inside but air. I am not an economist, but what I see as an ordinary citizen and as a man with more sensitivity, as an artist, is that we all are trying now to save capitalism. Because we have chosen it and we have to justify our choice. I do not know whether we will succeed.

How do you think Greece will manage to cope with the social crisis?

Greece has never managed to resolve the social crisis because it did not take care of its children. When I say Greece, I mean the people governing it. Those, who have ruled us so far, with few exceptions, did not take care of their country at all. They seized power to steal, to secure their election the next term, to appoint their friends, to increase the members of their "families" and therefore, their power. All of them tried to cut off a piece of flesh from their homeland, and as a result, it has become unprotected. We saw Greece collapsing not because of the first crisis, but because of the first "cold". Why is that? It is because there was no infrastructure. Citizens are also guilty, to a lesser degree, of course. For all tend towards easy, cheap, casual, funny things. To manoeuvres.
 
What do we do about it? Some turn to religion to create a social "contract" and to live together in peace. Others turn to politics. They vote for politicians to be able to apply the laws, to punish injustice and implement a programme in favour of the country and its citizens.

None of these things have happened. So far, politicians have "caressed" the ears of citizens, they have not punished anyone. They have helped the citizens to obtain financing based on false data. For example, they had one field and took grants for fifty, distributed them among themselves, whether in an actual or fictitious way. Because when I give grants for fifty fields and you have one acre, the next day you will give me your vote. In this case, we exchange things, but many times, the exchange was in terms of money. All these years, we were mixed up with this. That is why Theodoros Pangalos employed the great phrase "We ate the money together." It was useful because after the anger and nerves, we sat down and analyzed it. I think we should thank him for saying this.

So, I think it will be difficult to deal with the social crisis. The Greek must be trained. What I will say is tragic because people are suffering and I am suffering with them, because I am part of the people, rather than of the establishment. If people have financial difficulties, they will not come to the theatre. Then, I will not be able to show my art, I will not be able to send my message and my own vision for a better world. But under these conditions and because I have to be a bit more profound as an artist, I think the more this crisis continues, the more things will come to light and people will realize them. This is preciesly what will help the people.

What do you expect from the elections?

I expect a multiparty government with strong participation of more progressive powers. A government that will not agree with everything and its members at least will confront each other. Because when everyone agrees with everything, this means the feast is in full swing. This is the lesson history teaches us.

Of course, everyone wants an independent government, because it is very convenient. We, however, because we have spent our last coin and our pants are torn in the seat, we expect someone out there to think about us. We cannot entrust our last hope to anyone except the small parties, because both major parties have shown so far that they do not think about us. I am not politically engaged, I have never been a member of any party, although I have been invited to run. It is just to be able to speak as I do now.

To which theatrical play do you compare the current situation in Greece?

To a work, which I would like a playwright to write and entitle "The Greek mess." It is like the idiomatic expression "the guardrail of a "b...." (a slang expression meaning a crowd or a noisy dispute, a wrangle necessarily in the sense of discomfort – author’s note).

Do you know why I call my country a "b..ch" which is pretty cynical? It is because already in antiquity, there was a light as a sign of the existence of a house. This house was very tolerant. People went there, did what they did and left.

How would you comment on the attacks on artists? Last year, the actor Stelios Mainas was attacked and theatre director Stathis Livatninos was attacked ten days ago.

Two strangers attacked Stelios Mainas in order to rob him. Stathis Livatinos was attacked by discontented citizens, angry at the fourth power, i.e. the media. Because in some cases, people think they are unprotected and betrayed by them.

Could such an action be justified?

No, it could not. Violence leads to violence. There is no reason to get there. There are many ways that are more effective. Throwing yoghurt, as a general expression of these actions and fighting are absolutely unacceptable. Yes, people are discontented and sometimes completely out of control. But let me say something: Often those at whom yoghurt is thrown are those who are at the bottom of the list. We must produce tons of yoghurt for many others, who are much more higher up on the list and who are to blame for this situation. This in case we choose this method of response, without it meaning that it is my choice. I say this to somehow bring people, who resort to these methods, to their reason.

The play "Next door prisoner" is on for three weeks in Thessaloniki and then, it will go on a little tour around Greece. It is a work I want all Greeks to see, as it affects all these issues in an elegant way, with much humour and suggestions on how to deal with anger. I.e. how to deal with throwing yoghurt. And we can deal with it with optimism and hope. At one point, the character says, "If you do not take your own life into your own hands, someone else will take it and predestine it." Let us put an end to whining and misery. Let us understand what is happening and make a new beginning, but not on the base of bad habits of the past. Let us start with new habits, new awareness and new strength and optimism, because the crisis, whether economic or social, is primarily psychological. What we must make more powerful is our spirituality. This is what theatre always does. It deals with the human soul. We people of theatre believe that if filled with love, health and optimism, man can handle the greatest possible disaster. This is the message of our play, with lots of laughter and I would say excitement. Since many viewers leave the theatre with tears in their eyes.

We rarely see Bulgarian plays, the same goes for Greek plays in Bulgaria. Works of Bulgarian playwrights are almost never presented. Why is the connection between the Bulgarian and Greek theatre so weak?

The exchange of plays is the responsibility of people dealing with these things. I remember that when I worked at the National Theatre, we had several exchanges of performances with the National Theatre in Sofia. Moreover, times are difficult in financial terms, and such exchanges require significant costs.

However, technology has advanced and now, with the help of computers and subtitles, we have the chance to watch performances in many other languages. We could not do this before. We just watched Russian or Bulgarian productions and understood only some things. We knew what was happening only when watching a classic like "The Three Sisters" by Chekhov, for example, because we know the text almost by heart.

I think one of the reasons is the lack of people fluent enough in the specific language to translate the works. The language makes possible the easy and quick distribution of British and American theatre around the world. There is a large number of English translators. As soon as any English-language play or a play that was translated into English is on stage in Europe and America, it becomes popular immediately. There are alwyas some conscientious translators to offer the play in their countries.
 
I think that if there are plays dealing with related topics that concern both Bulgarians and Greeks, translators from Greece and Bulgaria should translate them and offer them to us. I am also looking for plays by authors from other countries, not just by English speaking authors. I would love to produce a play from a country, which is much closer to my own country than others are.