Festival defies the virus gloom

Kypria International Festival 2021 returns dedicated to its founder, the later education minister Claire Angelidou

“The arts are an inexhaustible wellspring that makes the world a better place,” says Andy Bargilly, the artistic director of Kypria International Festival.

“They develop empathy, they raise our levels of aesthetic perception in all its manifestations and make us better people. In difficult times, the importance and necessity of the arts becomes even greater.” And that, he says, is why the Kypria festival has kept going in spite of the difficulties created by the pandemic.

Returning for its 2021 edition next month, Kypria will feature 15 local and international productions with 41 performances of opera, theatre, music, children’s performances and some free performances all over the island, from September 4 to October 17.

“Our intention was to have a Cyprus-centred programme,” says Bargilly, “aimed at strengthening the artistic community of Cyprus, but without affecting the international character of the festival. Hence, the programme includes productions from Greece, Italy and Cyprus, with the participation of artists from Italy, Israel and the United Kingdom.”

He is particularly proud that the festival includes two world premieres of opera, one of which is a major co-production between Kypria and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, “a creative collaboration which has now become firmly established as an institution”.

In its third decade, Kypria festival has maintained its international character of the years and as always aims to enrich the cultural sector of the island and connect society with art and creativity. This year the festival celebrates former minister of education and culture Claire Angelidou who established the festival and greatly contributed to the Cyprus’ cultural development.

“An outstanding personality,” said the present Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou, “in the fields of education, poetry, politics and public life, in addition to her tireless efforts regarding the Cyprus problem and her beloved Famagusta, Claire Angelidou left her mark not only on our ministry, but also on the cultural life of our country as a whole.”

In the minister’s official address about the festival he added his support for the continuation of Kypria and all it stands for.

“In these circumstances,” he said, “it is with great satisfaction that we are able to put forward a programme of cultural events in the framework of the Kypria International Festival, since it is our belief that culture and the arts are not a luxury, but form an integral part of the existence and normal social life of human beings.”

Lifting the curtain on the festival is a production from Italy called ‘Tutti in Valigia’ with Luigi Ciotta on September 4 at the open air theatre of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Centre and on September 5 at the Christos and Miltos Christoforou Theatre on Limassol’s seafront promenade. The performance literally has suitcases inside suitcases inside suitcases with objects that continuously mutate and in doing so bring new scenes to life. The show combines physical theatre and circus trickery, while the simplicity of Luigi Ciotta engages the audience which plays with this charming character in this fast-paced, and often, poetic piece.

Luigi Ciotta takes his viewers back in time, to an imaginary hotel, full of guests and many old suitcases. It’s the 1930s and music accompanies this delightful porter in his fight against the overwhelming forces of chaos. The audience’s imagination is aroused by a world of magic, games and fantasy with a retro feel.

Any job, done over a long period of time, becomes repetitive and boring and so, after many years spent carrying people’s luggage, Luigi Ciotta’s character has learnt to look at things from a whole different point of view and break the monotony of his alienating daily routine. This change in perspective is a constant theme in the show, looking beyond, or perhaps better, inside the mind and inside ourselves in order to rediscover the ability to play with nothing and with that ‘nothing’ distance ourselves from the daily grind, and grasp the extraordinary nature of ordinary things.

Two performances will be on each day for this production, one at 6pm and another at 7.30pm, both lasting 35 minutes. Entrance to the shows is free yet reservations are required either via www.tickethour.com /or by calling 7777-7040. A packed programme is here to entertain the island until mid-October with rich cultural creativity for all.

KYPRIA International Festival 2021

15 productions with 41 performances of opera, theatre, music, children’s performances and more from local and international companies. September 4 – October 17. Various locations and times. Tickets: www.tickethour.com /or 7777-7040