Diary of a Madman travels to Paphos

This one is for theatre lovers and enthusiasts of impromptu performance art. An upcoming show honours local creatives and the long journey of an impactful performance. Nikolai Gogol’s farcical short story The Diary of a Madman has been going around the Cyprus theatre scene for the past 15 years. First presented in 2007 by actor Marios Ioannou, it was one of the first theatrical performances to feature the Cypriot dialect. Now, after performances that extend beyond Cyprus, the play returns to entertain – or rather move – Paphos audiences.

On Thursday, Ioannou will again perform it in Technopolis 20’s garden, with Stefanie Neofytou on stage. This production arrives after a long journey of performances at the Rialto Theatre, El Sahel Theatre in Cairo, the Hellenic Centre in London and numerous other venues, villages and coffee shops throughout Cyprus. Even dark-lit bars have hosted the play during lockdown and now, the Madman continues its voyage to Paphos.

“When the play was first staged in Artos,” says Ioannou, “Giorgos Tsiakkas did the production, Spyros Charalambous the direction, Giorgos Christodoulidis, who is no longer with us, the music and songs, Sossee Eskidjian the sets/costumes and Dinos Othonos the lighting. It is, of course, Gogol’s classic masterpiece that follows the path of a melancholic and confused civil servant to his isolation, madness and fateful redemption.

“For about five years now,” he adds, “the monologue has been inviting favourite musicians and the goal is always improvised jamming. The madman’s monologue invites Stefanis Neophytou who will improvise vocally on the themes written by the late Christodoulidis. The timing is magical, since when Stefani first saw the Madman she was ten-years-old and it always moved her a lot. Fifteen years later I meet her on stage in her initial steps as a performing artist.”

The monologue performance will commence at 8.30pm and its character will include an unsteady, mixed and unstructured improvisation, as the story calls for, in the spoken Greek-Cypriot dialect. What’s more, the production in Paphos is dedicated to Christodoulidis, whom organisers want to honour with this special edition of the Madman.

Diary of a Madman

Nikolai Gogol’s story, adapted into the Cypriot dialect. By Marios Ioannou and Stefani Neophytou. August 3. Technopolis 20, Paphos. 8.30pm. In the Cypriot dialect. €12. Tel: 7000-2420