June 2011, Constitution. At the top of the square, a large crowd shouts slogans and … at regular intervals passes through the Parliament. Downstairs, where some have camped for a few days, a meeting is taking place. With vague rules, the truth is sometimes passionate, and sometimes more calm speech, with structured arguments or with a predominance of temperament. Many talk about democracy in practice, the modern church of the municipality.

More than ten years later, director Danai Theodoridou invites the public to take part in public debate performance at the Athens City Hall, “An attempt to create a democratic assembly”, as she calls it, in the context of the Athens City Festival.

“Some movements, such as the Indignant and others created in recent years, are a source of inspiration for this project. Here we will have a participatory performance to emphasize the importance of a living, embodied presence in public space and dialogue”, Mrs Theodoridou tells us. In the practical part, the audience will receive a text, a kind of script, that will form the basis of the discussion, with three actors first coordinating the conversation, and then they will also become part of the assembly.

But how did the idea come about? “Over the past few years, I have been more generally concerned with the practice of democracy and how the performing arts (such as theater) can contribute to our political reactivation as a municipality. Political philosophers and analysts around the world argue that today we are witnessing democracy without its first component: literally because about half of the people vote in elections, but also because the context in which citizens actually had a say in decision-making is missing. .

However, apart from the scenario, the subject of which is the practice of the assembly itself, it is notable that all this takes place inside the municipal council chamber. “These people will enter the institutional hall of democracy, where only politicians usually go, to hold another meeting, with an artistic figurative sign. In general, I, like others in Europe, are very excited about how art can create public space.” We can’t help but notice, of course, that in the last decade much of the public dialogue has been moved to social media.

“Social media has really made a huge contribution to the dialogue and even to the creation of movements. But I think that they are just a field for the start of something that, if it does not take a physical dimension in a public space, will not be able to develop. We must also remember that these media are not a public space, but rather a private and controlled one,” notes Danae Theodoridou.

Politics and sexuality

The first part of the title of the project “One Three Some” refers to the participation process, but also has… spicy content as a reference to the sexy trio. “This is an allusion to the relationship between politics and sexuality, which is widely commented on in political philosophy, psychiatry and so on. Basically, however, it is again about the central role of the body; sensations, feelings, desires are of great importance in democratic practice. When someone goes to a demonstration, for example, there is, of course, a logical basis, but first of all there you are motivated by emotions, which we often downplay or ignore.”

The joint performance of “One Three Some” will take place next Tuesday, September 5 at the Athens City Hall from 18:00 to 21:00. Admission is free, by reservation [email protected]