I create multidisciplinary performances across different forms of art, from music and theatre to dance, visual arts, and literature, with a special emphasis on the political, collectivity, and new media. My aesthetic agenda is two-fold: challenging the "theatre of convention" and mobilizing citizens as an integral component of the art-making process.
Elli Papakonstantinou connects notions of myth and gender philosophy by revisiting the classics and creating immersive experiences. She is the founder of the international company ODC Ensemble. After living in the UK for over a decade, Papakonstantiou returned to Greece during the crisis and her engagement with civic movements at this time was pivotal to shaping her ideas. Named a Visiting CCRMA Scholar at Stanford University and a visiting scholar at Princeton University, she has been awarded twice a Fulbright Artist’s Award. Papakonstantinou was commissioned by the European Capitals of Culture “Valetta18” (Malta), “Eleusis21” (GR) and ‘Pafos17’ (Cyprus) and presented her work for the European Parliament for Culture in 2017. Her creations have toured internationally at the Centre George Pompidou (FR), Brooklyn Academy of Music (US), Operadagen Festival (HL), Neukollner Oper Berlin (DE), LaMaMa E.T.C. (US), the West End (UK), National Theatre of Greece (GR) and more.
Reviews
It was as if a bomb exploding at the foundations of Athens Festival…
Papakonstantinou and her ensemble do not beat around the bush: what they really mean to do is to (re) negotiate our turbulent historical present.
Iliana Dimadi | Athinorama | 16.06.2016
Α trip to Utopia…
If theatre is an empty space that is meant to be revisited, with each new performance presented at Vyrsodepseio, Papakonstantinou restructures the entire space to match her dramatic concept.
Dimitris Tsatsoulis | Eleftherotypia | 03.06.2013
Explosive and epic work, by turns horrific and hilarious, appalling and endearing, is wonderfully brought to the stage thanks to Ellis imaginative direction…
Dimitris Maronitis | To Vima | 30.08.2009
Elli Papakonstantinou dares to speak out about painful things…
Elli Papakonstantinou dares to speak out about painful things, both in Greece and abroad, toys with clichés and turns them upside down… After all, we should know by now that Papakonstantinou has a talent for bringing to life such moments of euphoric anarchy.
Giorgos Voudiklaris | Popaganda : At the Athens Festival premier | 16.06.2016
Elli, οne of the best representatives of Greek avant-garde, never seizes to surprise us…
ELLI’s 3 STRONG POINTS
Audience engagement: Elli shapes theatre into live experiences, driving audiences to long promenades within industrial spaces.
Music: Music works in a transcendental way, taking audiences into a space-time beyond the ordinary.
Extroversion: Her work evolves through international residencies and collaborations…
Maria Kryou | Athinorama | 28.01.2018
A performance that made us believe, 500 years ago, Shakespeare was actually writing for Greece in crisis…
Christos Zografos | Eleftherotypia | 27.02.2014
