There are two people waiting for Godot on the green line in Nicosia. One speaks Turkish, the other Cypriot, but both wait in vain for his arrival. “The absurdity of Samuel Becket is our history, this is the history of Cyprus,” Greek Cypriot actor Giorgos Kyriakou, one of the two main characters in AntiLogos Theater’s play Waiting for Gondo, directed by Costas, tells K Silvestro. which will be presented at the National Theater on Wednesday. Godot’s traditionally dubious personality has been at the center of considerations following Beckett’s classic work. But in this particular show, the identity has a clear name, a distinct essence. “It is clear to us that in this coup, Godot is the solution to the Cyprus problem,” emphasizes Mr. Kyriakou, “the reunification of the island and the coexistence of the two communities again.”

This particular production, starring Turkish Cypriot actress Izel Seilani, has already come a long way since it has been presented in Cyprus, the Occupied Territories and Turkey over the past two years, where it has even won two awards. awards (director and first male role in a break between two film partners) at the Maltepe Theater Festival in Istanbul. But in Greece it will be presented for the first time. The performance takes place in Athens as part of the “Cypriot Theater Week”, the purpose of which is to get acquainted with the modern Cypriot theater scene and establish a dialogue with the Greek theatrical reality and the Greek public.

“I am very excited,” emphasizes “K” 32-year-old Isel Seilani, who will come to Greece for the first time on the occasion of the performance. “I was waiting for the right moment,” he emphasizes, “and that moment was supposed to come with this show and turn my visit into a historic moment in my life.” He states that the specific project brought people from both communities together in Cyprus, adding that the reaction to the show from both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots was very similar. “The common element,” Mr. Seilani says, “was the hope for our common future.”

Before they starred in Waiting for Godot, Mr. Seilani and Mr. Kyriakou did not know each other. “This is one of the crazy things about the Cypriot reality,” emphasizes the second. “We’re the same age and worked 100 meters apart, but I’ve never met him.” Now they have become so close, “that I can call him my brother,” says Mr. Chiriakou. But since the subject is so sensitive, the question arises whether they also received a negative reaction. “People ask me: “Well, didn’t they call you traitors?” Fortunately not,” Mr. Kyriakou replies, while Mr. Seilani adds that even when people with very crystallized views on the Cyprus issue watch the play, their point of view changes after the play is over.

“We are the same age and worked 100 meters apart, but I never met him. Now I can call him my brother.”

“This is a performance that manages to present an important text by Beckett in the Cypriot dialect of Greek and Turkish, and two actors speaking their own language and waiting for Godot, the solution of the Cyprus issue, which has not been resolved for years. please come again – this partnership is very important,” Christos Georgiou, Executive Director of the Cyprus Center of the International Theater Institute, tells K, explaining the reasons why the performance does not leave the audience indifferent.

Within the framework of the Cypriot Theater Week, an event that is held for the first time in this format, but is a development of the Cypriot Theater Week in Athens, the play “German Life” with the participation of the famous actress Despina Bembedeli directed by Andreas Arauzu and producers of the Satyrikos Theater and Alpha Square.

“It is a pity that only two performances will be staged, because we have many productions in Cyprus,” said Mr. Kyriakou to “K”, stressing, however, that he was happy to return to the National Theater, will perform for the first time. “I am happy to play in the theater of the school I graduated from,” he notes, “with a performance of historical significance for my country.”