In his interview, Odysseas Ioannou discusses the dramatic approach of the play “MARIKA—They Told Me, MARIKA They Took Me Out,” and explains why, from the very beginning, a key condition was that it should not be yet another biographical narrative. As he notes, his interest focused on “what might have happened,” paving the way for fiction.
He refers to the deliberate “licenses” of the work: the fictional encounter between Marika Papagika and Marika Ninou, the choice of a female narrator, and the creation of a fictional world where women converse not as historical figures but as human beings. Through this process, the performance seeks to shed light on the anxieties, difficulties, and contradictions of their lives, beyond the myth.
Odysseas Ioannou also discusses the research that preceded the work, the tragic historical circumstances of the era, as well as the need for the text to have a timeless quality, so that the heroines’ thoughts and concerns can still be heard today. Finally, she mentions her collaboration with Giorgos Andreou and the juxtaposition of old, beloved songs with new, original compositions that give the show’s music a contemporary feel.
