The Spanish playwright Ernesto Caballero's play "The Painting" ("Ο Πίνακας") is having its Greek premiere at Theatro Psyrri in Athens, directed by Michalis Panadis. The production is described as a sharp contemporary comedy set against deep fakes, manufactured idols, political manipulation and the power of influencers.
The cast brings together Ioanna Pappa, Giouli Tsagkaraki and Angelos Andriopoulos in what the production describes as an explosive stage collaboration, marked by a fast pace, subtle irony and relentless self-mockery. Positioned between political thriller and pure satire, the play is billed as a mirror to a society collapsing behind its own image.
The plot
The story is set in the near future in Spain, where an economic crisis has dissolved the European Union and brought the country to its knees. As an extreme rescue measure, a coalition government called "Forward People" decides to allow the sale of national cultural heritage, starting with Diego Velazquez's celebrated masterpiece "Las Meninas."
Velazquez's 17th-century painting, one of the most famous works in Western art, hangs in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Before the original can be handed over to buyers, the government hires a humble nun known for her rare talent at copying artworks to produce an identical, "perfect" replica, and the Prado puts the replacement plan into motion.
From nun to viral influencer
Under the cover of an "Exhibition of Copies," Sister Angela is gradually transformed from a woman of God into an absolute viral trend, an avant-garde media influencer, a pop nun next door adored by the crowds.
When the government is ready to formally announce the painting's sale and its replacement with the copy, the public welcomes the move, since by then they adore the famous copying nun and prefer her to Velazquez himself, in an age when social media personalities are worth more than history and culture, and copies are trendier than originals.
The play then turns on what happens when the nun-turned-star begins to develop her own artistic voice and starts making interventions on the painting itself, setting off what the production calls a frenzied journey of vanity, faith and self-knowledge, confronting a society addicted to likes, manipulation and constructed idols.
Credits and cast
The Greek translation is by Maria Hatzemmanouil, with dramaturgical adaptation by Pavlos Pavlidis and Kalliopi Panagiotidou. Sets and lighting are by Zoi Molyvda Fameli, costumes by Alegia Papageorgiou, and music curation is by director Michalis Panadis. The cast, listed alphabetically, comprises Angelos Andriopoulos, Ioanna Pappa and Giouli Tsagkaraki.
Performance details
Performances run Wednesdays at 20:00, Thursdays at 21:00, Fridays at 21:00, Saturdays at 18:00 and 21:00, and Sundays at 20:00. The show runs 90 minutes with no interval, staged at Theatro Psyrri, Sachtouri 4, in the Psyrri district of Athens. The box office can be reached at 211 1000 365.
