We recommend 5 shows to spend your autumn in the theaters of Athens

Fall is here no matter how much you deny it, and the temperatures may still be relatively high, but the return to work, studies and everyday life has been in full force. For those of us this return is based in Athens, it’s time to get organized for the theatrical performances that will fill our autumn afternoons.

If you’re wondering where to book a ticket, we’re here to help you get a seat, at the shows that not only start early in the fall, but we’ve already lined them up.

• Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams

The rich and domineering Mrs. Venable (Filareti Komnenos) pathologically adored her poet son Sebastian, and every summer the two traveled together. Last summer, however, for the first time she did not accompany him on his vacation, but his young cousin Catherine (Anastasia Padousi) who took on the role that she had monopolized until then. That fateful summer, however, Sebastian died under mysterious circumstances. When a shocked Catherine tells the truth about his death, Mrs. Venable refuses to believe her and tries to convince/bribe the distinguished neurosurgeon John Kukrovits (Dimitris Tsiklis) to label her psychotic and perform a lobotomy. The doctor showing composure, prudence and superiority, unaffected by the lure of money and the blackmails of Mrs. Venable, tries to understand Catherine’s position. The girl will lean on him and trust him, while he will slowly sink into the shadowy and mysterious world that surrounds the Venable family. What really happened last summer? What secret was behind his death that should remain hidden?

Starring: Filareti Komninou, Anastasia Pantousi, Dimitris Tsiklis, Lilly Meleme, Paris Leontios

From Monday, October 16, 2023 – NEW Academy: Akadimias & Ippokratous 17, Metro University

• Simple Transition by Gerasimos Evangeliatos & Themis Karamouratides

Sunday morning, spring, at “Eleftherios Venizelos” International Airport. Eight people in the airport waiting room, determined to leave Greece for an uncertain future in England, share their stories, fears and insecurities. The flight is delayed and all of them have enough time to get to know each other, to confess their thoughts, to reminisce, to reconsider their decision. Young people, insecure figures, scared and angry. They are looking for a new career opportunity or just chasing survival. Each of them a separate story. The common denominator is the hope of a better tomorrow and the nostalgia of the lost dream.

Starring: Konstantinos Aspiotis, Konstantinos Gavalas, Yannis Kapeleris, Hara Kefalas, Peggy Manolas, Vassilis Milionis, Mariza Rizou, Antigoni Psychrami

From October 9 – Acropolis Theatre: Hippocrates 9-11

• Perfect Strangers by Paolo Genovese

Seven friends, three couples and one “single”, meet for lunch at the home of one of the couples. They decide to play a game. They all leave their phones in the middle of the table and share with each other the content of every text, email or phone call they receive. Secrets surface that upset the balance in relationships. Because as Gabriel García Márquez said, “Each of us has three lives, one public, one personal and one secret.” And as if three lives weren’t enough, there’s also a Full Moon…

Starring: Myrto Alikakis, Petros Lagoutis, Dimitris Liolios, Sofia Manolakou, Katerina Misichroni, Dimitris Xanthopoulos, George Hraniotis, Elena Delakouras

From October 12 – Athens Theatre: Derigny 10 & Patision

• Unfriend by Steven Moffat

During their vacation, Petros and Debbie, a lovable “proper” couple, meet Elsa, an eccentric flamboyant widow. They politely agree to stay in touch on social media. A few months later Elsa visits them uninvited, announcing that she will stay with them for 1 whole week. In other words they “become a tick”, putting them in a difficult position. When the couple decides to look for some information on the internet about their unwanted guest, since they know nothing about her, they discover that she might be a cold-blooded killer, a serial killer! A casual holiday acquaintance is no longer just a burden they want to get rid of – and don’t know how – but a potentially deadly threat to themselves and their children. Are internet rumors true? How will they protect everything they love without coming across as rude? But do they count without… the hotelier?

Starring: Katerina Didaskalou, Vaso Laskaraki, Solon Tsounis, Dimitris Kouroumbalis, Aris Antonopoulos, Georgia Mesariti, Manolis Ginis / Ameriko Melis

From October 12 – NEW Academy: Akadimias & Ippokratous 17, Metro University

• Craving for Cherries by Agnieszka Osiecka

The play takes place in the 60s and 70s within the framework of the then Polish People’s Republic. A man and a woman meet by chance on the platform of a railway station and board the train, in the same carriage. Him and her. Two complete strangers.

Or maybe not; Forced to travel together, they reveal and share their pasts, playing third-person roles that they have met in their lives. The play makes a deep cut not only in the relations between couples but also in the gap of two conflicting “worlds”. This is an everyday hero who “builds socialism”.

She wants to buy “a…pink hat”! Both engage in a poignant yet humorous conflict with tenderness and sensitivity composing prose, lyrics and live music through the original musical theater form of a musical for two!

Starring: Leonidas Kalfagiannis, Elena Mengreli

From October 23 – Train Theater the Train on the Roof