The discussion with the two leading representatives of Cypriot theatre starts with what made them say "yes" to this project. Anita Santorinaiou starts off, who says she is delighted to be working with Varnavas again. "Apart from the fact that we have been a couple before, we have been colleagues for many years. Stage-wise, we have cut many miles together," she says, adding that she loves the work of Andreas Araouzos, the director of the show. "Andreas has a very nice aesthetic and this interests me, as well as the interiority and sensitivities that come out of his performances," he adds.
Varnavas Kyriazis says that my first professional performance as an actress at the Art Theatre was with Anita Santorinaou in Alexis Sevastakis' "Work Trip". At the same time, he points out that he had not met with Ms Santorinaiou in a one-on-one duet since 1999, in the performance "And now the two of us", adding that the performance "The Archive" will be their second meeting as a duo. "I have been working on a regular basis with Alpha Square from 2015 to the present. We have done several jobs with Andreas Arauzo," Kyriazis says.
When asked by CNA if they have anything in common with the roles they play, both actors answer in the negative. "I don't believe that any actor ever has any common elements with the role they are trying to perform. In the course of rehearsal he may discover some things," says Barnabas Kyriazis. "When on stage you don't transform and impersonate yourself, you are just repeating a mannerism. When insignificance enters into importance, then the virus of decay awakens," he notes, to add that actors are storytellers and it matters how they tell this tale.
For her part, Anita Santorinaiou says she is a more spontaneous person than her role, but has experienced correspondences in relation to this play. "I try to keep my acting self in infancy. I try to be a child, to look at each role as if it were my first time so that I am clear about it and accept the influences to serve the writer and the text," she says.
Additionally, Ms. Santorinaou explains that the play deals with relationships of all kinds: social, family, interpersonal, historical-political, and even narrowly partisan, since the two characters are situated in different ideologies. People's relationships, he adds, inevitably suffer terrible friction and wear and tear, especially when people have been together for many years.
Kyriazis points out that the play in English is called "Hansard", which is the official minutes of the English parliament. However, in the case of the play there is an oddity, because the title refers to the records of the two heroes, Diana and Robbie, which, he explains, hold several secrets. "The heroes have been married for 30 years, and for the last 15 years their relationship has been a mess because of a shocking event. These two people have found their mechanisms to coexist, even if one says heavy words to the other. The climate is toxic, but they both deal with it with humour and caustic comments," he points out. "We are talking about English people, another way of behaving, another way of thinking, another culture compared to Mediterranean people," adds Santorinaiou.
When the conversation turns to their future plans from a professional point of view, Anita Santorinaiou declares with disarming honesty. We are at a stage in our career where we have settled down, we have played too many things." Varnavas Kyriazis is in the same vein, who says he has had a very busy year.
Asked by CNA if there are any roles she would like to play, the acclaimed actress replies that she is interested in a role that will stimulate her mind, and through which she has something to say regarding the way we live and put a stone in this social scene. "I have no ambition to play certain roles, I am very full of it," she says, adding that she has accepted to act in The Archive because she believes it is very important to intervene in many social issues. For his part, Kyriazis states: "I have no particular ambitions to play anything in particular. We are at an age when we know that an actor has to stop when his mind is not working."
Regarding the course of Cypriot theatre in recent years, Anita Santorinaiou states that there is energy, there are young people with many skills who have things to say, but a common language that conveys the surrounding atmosphere of the time with great clarity has not yet been clarified. "The era is more ambiguous with many more stimuli and enemies. The theatre has to deal with the internet, the media, the MSM, which are very useful, but at the same time they draw attention to you," he stresses, adding that theatre needs to find a voice that is stronger than distractions.
Varnavas Kyriazis is of the opinion that theatre in Cyprus is doing better and better both in terms of the variety of theatre performances and in terms of audience attendance. All seasons, he adds, have their bad and good, but the theatre has existed, exists and will continue to exist. "It all starts with the word 'questioning'. I think inherent in a large portion of actors is the questioning of many things, of the societies we live in, of the political parties, of those who govern us," he points out. "But unfortunately, I don't think theatre can change things. If it could change them, it would have changed them already," the acclaimed actor stresses. For her part, Anita Santorinaou points out that man in general does not change. "As Sophocles says, it comes once for good and once for evil," she says."
We ask the two great actors to describe the theatre's relationship with society. Kyriazis describes this relationship as "terrifying", adding that even what the audience receives from a performance - whether positive or negative - will eventually fade away. "The work of an actor is 'air', as opposed to the work of a musician or a painter. When a performance ends, it is lost, it disappears," he says.
"Theatre is functional and creative only in the time it exists, because as a mirror it reflects the social conditions of the present. Apart from the fact that our profession is mortal in itself, the principles of the world are changing, the conditions in which it lives are changing. The theatre is shaped accordingly," Santorinaou notes. "What matters most in our work," she adds, "is whether what the playwright writes can be described and conveyed with greater clarity and crystal clarity to affect audiences who will attend the play today." Tomorrow, he states, the circumstances the viewer will face may be reflected in a different mirror. Circumstances change, as life itself changes, he concludes.
The performance premieres on 19 May at the Leventis Gallery, Nicosia. Performances start at 20:30, except for the Sunday performance, which will start at 19:30. The performance will tour to Paphos (30/5), Larnaca (31/5) and Limassol (1/6).
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