“Agisilagos” of Dimitris Bashlam
A show with dolls and live music
After 150 sold out appearances in Thessaloniki and Hellenic Cosmos of the Foundation of the Hellenic World, Agisilagos goes for a walk in the region!
A “happy multicolored celebration,” a musical-theatrical tale created by Dimitris Basslam (inspired by his homonymous book and the music CD that loved the children) and which has the following specificity: It is not only a puppet theater, it is not just music or theatrical performance. It’s all together. “Agisilagos” is growing in the first place around the issue of balanced nutrition and healthy lifestyle. The writer, through the adventures of a hungry cook, makes us a pleasant nutrition lesson, but without the mood for teaching and morality. At the same time, on a second level, we are talking about the multiculturalism of society and the position of everyone in it. In a set that includes all people and tribes.
The dolls, by hand Demeter Giovanni, get flesh and bones from the actors. The spirits and the immediacy of the text and the actors are such that the dolls come alive in front of the eyes of the young spectators, even though the actresses who move them are in a common view. On stage, there are three actors who, with absolute co-ordination and grace, go from the role of the narrator, to the role of the animator, giving the action of Agisilagos even more action.
On stage, there are also two musicians who comment and sing the motives of Mr. Agisilagos, musically dressing the story.
The fairytale was embraced with much love by preschool and school age children and has inspired theatrical and educational staff to transport it to the stage, as well as play.
Magic, fairy tale, humor and warmth ….
The story
Agisilagos is a cute hare-chef. He lives in his home in the forest, cooking imaginative recipes, with a wide variety of materials. But one day wakes up with mocking! Panic, it attributes the cause of the problem to the food it eats. It then begins an adventurous journey of searching for one, ideal food that will cure him.
Eating, however, with monomania the materials, which he thinks as ideal, changes color according to the color of the food he consumes. Thus, he continues his search when red, sometimes green and yellow. A tree that speaks, a strange pelican doctor, a bastard of patent leather, a camel with bikinis, a hippopotamus on a diet … flying lemon fishes and a loving bow tie, each one in turn, trying to convince him he is wrong!
Few words about the creator
Dimitris Basslam is a Greek musician and writer of fairy tales. He writes music and lyrics starting with children and adolescents. He has participated as a musician in the local discography and has taught at the Department of Folk and Traditional Music at TEI of Epirus.
In December 2005 Dimitris Basslam issues his first children’s tale, “Garalisti”. Here are the “Agisilagos” in 2007, the “Angry Concrete Mixer” in 2009, “Moustokouloura”, “I Say to Fly” in 2011, and “The Baryton Shoes” “Sofia, a bee who liked to read” and “Probabilities”. In 2013 he was awarded the State Award for Illustrated Children’s Book for the “Angry Concrete Mixer”. He entered the White Ravens List of the International Children’s Library in Munich in 2013 and in 2017 with the “Angry Concrete Mixer” and “Probabilities”.
Text-Direction
Dimitris Bashlam
Choreography
Dimitris Sotiriou
Dolls
Sets by Dimitra Giovanni
Music
Dimitris Bashlam
Lighting Design
Athena Banana
Costumes
Nikos Dallas
Interpretation – Animation
Vasilis Liakos-Marietta Spiliopoulou- Christos Chrisopoulos
Musicians Yannis
Papageorgiou-Louiza Sofianopoulou
