Massistonia
by Colin Teevan
MASSISTONIA, by Colin Teevan
....The funny and often alarming story of an ill-fated theatre production which became the centre of a political and financial storm. Here's Colin Teevan, slightly edited by ND, in the introduction to the R3 broadcast on Sunday 6 Feb, 2011:
....'In 2008 I was invited to direct a play of mine for the National Theatre in Macedonia. It was a prestigious invitation to work with a renowned troupe from the former Eastern block. The really exciting aspect was to produce a play in two great ancient amphitheatres, including Heraclion. We were excited by the prospect of the production.
However when we arrived there in the summer things did not quite go according to plan and we found ourselves at the centre of a national political scandal; and as the danger of the situation increased with daily threats coming from both political and local sides and as we went from press conferences to meetings with ministers we ultimately found ourselves in hiding in the countryside. We shared gallows humour amongst ourselves ..... we discussed who would play whom in the feature film of the debacle.
I suppose this is the 'radio film' . It's not a documentary but a fiction based on the real events that we lived through in Macedonia in 2008.....'
Production details:
CAST: Darren Boyd, Nikola Kodjabashia, Ewan Bailey, Sasha C Damjanovski, Dolya Gavanski, Ivan Marevich, Iain Batchelor, Leah Brotherhead. Original music by Nikola Kodjabashia, producer Toby Swift.
ND
