LAPIS LAZULI // 2024
// a metamorphic rock showing unpredictable behaviour under pressure
Following the global success of RELIC (2015), TITANS (2017), and ELENIT (2019), Euripides Laskaridis unveils his latest work, Lapis Lazuli. Inspired by the mesmerizing blue stone known for its unpredictable behavior under pressure, Lapis Lazuli explores contrasts and transformations on stage. The stone, often called the "Stone from Heaven," symbolizes the tension between earthly decay and celestial renewal, serving as a metaphor for the fluidity of identity.
Paying homage to the diversity of theatrical genres — from ancient Greek drama to Kabuki, horror to musicals — Lapis Lazuli reimagines 1920s horror archetypes of predator and prey, blending grotesque comedy, raw humanity, and theatrical virtuosity. The work delves into the hypnotic allure of change, much like the lapis lazuli's journey through history, its ultramarine blue prized for millennia in art and royalty.
This international co-production, featuring co-producers from Greece, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, and Bulgaria, premiered on April 4, 2024, at the Onassis Stegi in Athens and has embarked on an extensive worldwide tour that continues to unfold. Lapis Lazuli invites audiences to embrace evolution’s complexity, finding beauty in the unpredictable process of becoming.
// where & when
// 2024
GREECE // ATHENS // Onassis Stegi // 4-27 April 2024 // world première
SPAIN // MADRID // Teatros del Canal // 10 & 11 May 2024
BULGARIA // PLOVDIV // ONE Dance Festival – Boris Hristov House of Culture // 25 & 26 May 2024
NETHERLANDS // AMSTERDAM // Julidans // 4 & 5 July 2024
SPAIN // BARCELONA // Grec Festival De Barcelona – Mercat de les Flors // 13 & 14 July
FRANCE // PARIS // Théâtre de la Cité Internationale // 1 – 3 October 2024
ITALY // TURIN // Torinodanza Festival – Fonderie Limone // 22 & 23 October 2024
ITALY // REGGIO EMILIA // Festival Aperto – Fondazione I Teatri di Reggio Emilia // 27 October 2024
GEORGIA // TBILISI // GIFT Festival – Marjanishvili Theater // 12 & 13 November 2024
BELGIUM // CHARLEROI // Charleroi Danse – Les Écuries // 7 December 2024
BELGIUM // LIEGE // Théâtre de Liège // 11 & 12 December 2024
// 2025
CHILE // SANTIAGO // Santiago a Mil International Festival // 17 – 19 January 2025
HELSINKI // FINLAND // Espoo Teatteri // 6 – 8 February 2025
ITALY // FLORENCE // Teatro della Pergola // 20 – 22 February 2025
// reviews
“It is not only Greece, the home country of Laskaridis - the source of one of the newest and most intriguing artists, that is implicated; now, all of Europe must reevaluate the social measures and ethical foundations of its policies. ‘It’s a beautiful, beautiful show, in a difficult, difficult life.[...] Α warning, a queer denunciation of the distortions of our social system, of the economic corruption infiltrating our lives, eroding the very essence of what we can truly call life. And, at the same time, it is the heralding angel of a new and imminent apocalypse…”
“[An] orgy party of the grotesque that culminates in a blending of philosophical beauty.”
“...a performance that will make you think more about the content after its completion and follow you like a ghost [...] immense enjoyment and stunning visuals.”
“Laskaridis shows us that contemporaneity doesn’t have to be serious, minimalist, and abstract. Instead, we can embrace classic theater techniques and approaches while using all theatrical tools and resources to enhance creative freedom rather than constrain it... He manages to tell us a ‘story,’ making us feel like children for a while... Crystal-clear aesthetic criterion and an authentically unique style.”
“New, colorful transformations turn the flirtation with danger into an ode to nostalgic horror films. Beneath all the masquerades, deeper themes such as the impact of fear, violence, and trauma on dreams and memories emerge. “What a difficult life, what a beautiful show...”
“The performances of this very idiosyncratic, original creator who is at once a visual artist, choreographer, dramaturg, and ingenious constructor, are meant for our hearts, not our minds.
During the passionate, sustained applause of yesterday’s premiere at the Onassis Stegi […] I was searching for the connection between lapis lazuli and the performance we had enjoyed. I found it in the magical properties of the stone, in the inexplicable and paranormal elements that the alchemist Laskaridis always manages to infuse into his works, transforming his humble materials into captivating entertainment.”
“Laskaridis’ LAPIS LAZULI comes in a way straight from the future, it almost screams in the face of the mundane and leaves a legacy on stage of a daring artist, determined to continue creating with defiance leaving aside the traditional conservative clarity that contemporary theatre unfortunately often seeks.”
“LAPIS LAZULI by the masterful Euripides Laskaridis is an unrelenting allegory for the transformative power of theatre—a testament to the expansive intellect of theatrical performance. An onnagata werewolf and a seahorse who perished in his arms.”
“The images he offers us remain etched in our souls, acting like a slow-release drug. Euripides Laskaridis emerges as a modern shaman, a trickster who exorcises darkness and transforms it into light, a trickster who champions the truth. Through his magic and stagecraft, he distills the essence of life, allowing us to experience the healing power of imagination.”
“Laskaridis practices comedy in a pataphysical way. He moves against the current of norms. That is, he subverts the whole theory that wants drama to claim through its seriousness the great truths of life, and shows us that comedy leads to clearings, constantly veering off course.”
“I understood from the beginning that the theatre Euripides Laskaridis sows, harvests, and reaps is not suitable for critical analysis, nor for simple description […]. Because the stage universe of Laskaridis is not something that is described externally, like an image across, but internally, like an inside dream.
Laskaridis extends the joy of theatre that asks for nothing more than to remain theatre and nothing else […]. He simply wants us to let go while it lasts, to stop arranging things, composing and interpreting them... He wants us to rediscover our ability to dream with our eyes open.
The most important thing that I discern in LAPIS LAZULI is its simple – “simple” because it is candid – beauty. Here we find, from a Greek creator, the joy of art that can give birth to another world right before us […]. Without realizing it, Laskaridis makes us accomplices of his innocence, co-sleepwalkers of his dream.”
“Here, comedy is not light-hearted, but rather subversive and disorienting, reminding audiences that humor is also a powerful tool for exploring the depths of human fear and vulnerability.[...]Like the lapis lazuli stone, the performance exerts its own kind of pressure on its viewers, prompting us to reflect on our own transformations, our own capacity for change under the weight of life’s challenges. Euripides Laskaridis, through his whimsical, grotesque, and deeply human vision, offers not just a performance, but a mirror in which we glimpse both the beauty and fragility of the human experience.”
“We find ourselves slightly astonished yet pleasantly gratified by this exuberant, baroque spectacle that nods to surrealism. Above all, it awakens our inner child, liberating us from the dullness of electronic devices and captivating us with the masterful artistry of a theater of bodies and figures. For just over an hour, it transports us back to our primal fears and desires.”
“A surrealist and gothic experience, avant-garde yet irresistibly captivating, poised between numerous disciplines without fully embodying any—except for the expansive and undeniably essential realm of “theater,” understood in its broadest sense [...] the staging of the performance is so extravagant and multi-layered that it instantly transcends the mainstream—one might even dare to say it ventures into the realm of the meta-mainstream.[...] Amid the surreal absurdity of the characters and the narrative, these objects, along with the gestures that bring them to life, acquire an ontological weight of reality. They stand as an antidote to technological dependence and the notion that nothing is achievable without it.”
“In Laskaridis’ universe there are no disparate elements, partly because the playful scenography, the spectacular costumes and the eerie music score are well interwoven to create a visually and aurally abundant, neo-baroque style, in which, like a forgotten Hollywood star, a werewolf seeks comfort and goes to sleep while cuddling with a gigantic pink sea-horse.”
“In just a few words Euripides Laskaridis creates a web of irony and sharp criticism of the “dictatorship” of Scientific thinking in modern societies. Proposing a handmade but far from simplistic art [...], he returns with a liminal spectacle that incorporates disparate genres of performing arts, forms, aesthetic and cultural eras.”
“A performance of high aesthetic qualities! A unique extravaganza that vibrates all the senses. It’s the ultimate “surprise” that Laskaridis has in store for the viewers.”
“... a rare and opulent artisan theater, featuring scenes, costumes, masks, and objects of exquisite handcrafted artistry that astonish with their creativity and “special effects” performed in plain view.”
“[…] both grotesque and full of poetry. […] Once again, Euripides Laskaridis creates an incredible world, mixing shabby and profound beauty, humor and emotion, hazardous DIY and misguided technology. […] What madness! What happiness! Yes, really, “it’s a beautiful night”!”
“[…] endlessly exploring the themes of metamorphosis and the ridiculous.[…] It is poetic and unsettling. Hallucinatory. Despairing —“it’s a difficult difficult difficult life.” And he’s not wrong.”
// project info
LAPIS LAZULI // 2024
// a mid-scale piece for five performers and a dazzling seahorse // 80 minutes
conceived & directed by // Euripides Laskaridis
with // Angelos Alafogiannis, Maria Bregianni//Eftychia Stefanou, Euripides Laskaridis, Dimitris Matsoukas & Spyros Ntogas
original music & sound design // Giorgos Poulios
dramaturgy consultant // Alexandros Mistriotis
set design // Sotiris Melanos
lighting design // Stefanos Droussiotis
special acoustic & electronic sound inventions, sounding objects // Yorgos Stenos
artistic collaborators – costumes // Christos Delidimos & Alegia Papageorgiou
props & special constructions // Konstantinos Chaldaios
artistic collaborator – set // Vagelis Xenodochidis
movement consultant // Nikos Dragonas
assistants to the director // Charikleia Petraki & Yannis Savouidakis
tour artistic collaborator // Marianna Kavallieratos
artistic collaborator & rehearsal stand-in // Telis Tellakis
artistic collaborator Onassis AiR Fellowship 2022 research – costume // Aggelos Mentis
artistic collaborators Onassis AiR Fellowship 2022 research – set // Loukas Bakas & Filanthi Bougatsou
technical director // Konstantinos Margkas
sound engineers // Martha Kapazoglou, Giorgos Chanos & Kostis Pavlopoulos
lighting technician & special lighting constructions // Giorgos Ierapetritis
props & special constructions assistant // Timothy Laskaratos
production assistant // Nikos Charalampidis
production runners // Theologos Kampouris & Lida Manousou Alexiou
assistant director intern // Katerina Tsolou
set design intern & logo design // Konstantinos Papantonis
props interns // Aphrodite Psychouli, Ilektra Anichini Pantalaki & Efthymis Gronthos
costumes intern // Ernesta Chatzilemonidou
dramaturgy intern // Jimmy Machai
directorial feedback – tech weeks // Talya Rubin
lights stand-in // Alexandra Drandaki
OSMOSIS operations coordinator & communications editor // Euklida Velaj [2023-24], Yannis Savouidakis [2024], Aristea Stefanoudaki [2024]
executive production, tour & production management // Polyplanity Productions / Yolanda Markopoulou & Vicky Strataki
tour management, select stops // Tina Papanikolaou
photography // Pinelopi Gerasimou, Elina Giounanli & Julian Mommert
cinematography & colour correction by // Nikos Nikolopoulos
video trailer edited by // Euripides Laskaridis
a project by // Euripides Laskaridis & the OSMOSIS performing arts company [GR]
produced by // Onassis Stegi [GR]
supported by // the Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès [FR]
co-produced by // Théâtre de la Ville [FR], Théâtre de Liège [BE], Espoo Theatre Finland [FI], Teatros del Canal [ES], Teatro della Pergola Firenze [IT], Festival Aperto / Fondazione I Teatri Reggio Emilia [IT] & the Big Pulse Dance Alliance festivals: Julidans [NL], Torinodanza Festival / Teatro Stabile di Torino – Teatro Nazionale [IT] & One Dance Festival [BG]
co-funded by // the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union
with the support of // NEON Organization for Culture and Development [GR]
with the support of // Megaron – the Athens Concert Hall [GR]
with the financial support of // the Greek Ministry of Culture
supported in touring by // the “Outward Turn” Program of Onassis STEGI [GR]
// initial research & development were made possible with the support of the Onassis AiR Fellowship [GR]
special thanks to // Dimitris Papaioannou for his steadfast support and invaluable artistic guidance, providing unwavering assistance and friendship yet one more time, and to Tina Papanikolaou for her dedicated heartfelt care, ensuring sustenance throughout the creation process.
thanks also to // Irad Avni, Rafailia Bampasidou, Nontas Damopoulos, Antonia Economou, Doxa Glava, Santi Guillamon, Vicky Kaminari, Thanos Karanikas, Kali Kavvatha, Manos Kotsaris, Sylvia Liouliou, Vicky Maragkopoulou, Spyros Maragoudakis, Kostas Michopoulos, Drosos Skotis, Stelios Theodorou, Manolis Vitsaxakis & Papapostolou Orthopedics and Medical Supplies for kindly providing the anatomical skeleton model.
