Athens Festival 2020: Disoriented dance/Misled planet

The mighty Odeon of Herodes Atticus has seen a lot of action in its 2,500 years. In the last century alone, everyone from Frank Sinatra and Maria Callas to the Foo Fighters has rocked its stony stage beneath the Acropolis. Now, this ancient open-air wonder hosts its first ever contemporary art exhibition. Sculptor Dionisis Kavallieratos has teamed up with NEON Art Foundation to startle and provoke us all with his surreal and ironic in-situ installation of a circular dance of statues. The punchy free spectacle opens the gates for The Athens & Epidaurus Festival, an annual cultural bonanza that’s been inevitably pared right back this year in the wake of Covid-19. The art of Kavallieratos often describes a harsh and disrupted world of amusing conventions, theatrical absurdity and indifference - but his latest pandemic-era project is more a comment on the importance of community, companionship, friendship, laughter, gestures and physical expression. There will be social distance protocols in place for the duration of this landmark exhibition, with a maximum capacity of twenty people, and entry permitted every twenty minutes. For that reason, pre-booking at the link below is essential.