Coming up at Rialto in May

Plays, music and film to take over Limassol theatre says ELENI PHILIPPOU

A new series of cultural performances will take over Rialto Theatre in May, including theatrical productions, musicians from Greece and Cyprus and all sorts of artists.

May’s programme begins with the play The Ugly One on May 2, presented in Greek by Enacttheatre. Four actors read the play on stage, unfolding a scalpel-sharp comedy on beauty, identity and getting ahead in life. On the following evening, a spring concert will be presented by the ensembles of Marios Tokas Limassol Music School with the participation of students who performed well in their solo instruments.

May 5’s performance returns to theatre and to Anton Chekov’s Three Sisters. Written in 1900 and described by the author himself as a comedy, Three Sisters is a four-act existential drama about expectation, anticipation and loss of hope. The performance is directed by Athina Kasiou featuring an eclectic cast and crew and includes English and Turkish surtitles.

On May 7, the interactive soundwalk Peripato continues, inviting the public on a journey across time and an experience of sound and visual images. The walk will take place in Greek starting from Heroes’ Square at 11am. On the same day is a concert by the renowned Greek songwriter Fivos Delivorias who along with collaborators will present his latest album, ANIME.

The Sculpting Souls and Hearts evening on May 9 is a tribute to Cypriot music teachers and composers, οrganised by the ministry of education and high school teachers union Oelmek, on the occasion of the latter’s 70th anniversary. The concert will begin at 8.30pm and is free to attend.

Next up is another National Theatre Live broadcast, bringing an extraordinary new production of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedy, Othello. Directed by Clint Dyer with a cast that includes Giles Terera (Hamilton), Rosy McEwean (The Alienist) and Paul Hilton (The Inheritance), the performance is filmed live on the Lyttleton stage of the National Theatre. It will be screened on May 13 with Greek and English subtitles.

Following its staging at the Athens Epidaurus Festival in 2021, where it received critical and audience acclaim, the surrealist comedy The Republic of Baklava will be presented on Rialto Theatre’s stage on May 18, 19 and 20. It is an unexpectedly hilarious theatre mockumentary, which, despite drawing inspiration from the 1821 Greek Revolution, is set in the modern-day, digital world, exploring issues of identity and politics.

Then on May 22, screenings of short documentaries directed by third-year students of the Department of Fine Arts, Tepak will be presented. The films present short non-arguments, which compose a poetic reality, as formed through the gaze of the future fine artists.

On May 24 and 25, the theatrical group Solo gia Treis will present the play Phoenix: The Others Are You as directed by Christodoulos Andreou in Greek. Finally, on May 26, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra will host the Premiere 6 concert, playing the Cyprus premieres of numerous pieces.

Tickets and details on www.rialto.com.cy