Mistero Buffo
by Dario Fo.
Translated by Ed Emery
with Panos Vlahos
directed by Lyto Triantafyllidou
(A Q&A with the actor and the director will take place after all the shows).
'Mistero Buffo' is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH LTD.
A modern clown entertains his audience by performing a provocative Comical Mystery.
Mistero Buffo is a political exploration of popular Medieval Mysteries, consisting of several scenes re-imagining stories from the Bible and establishing new protagonists against religious rule. This theatrical realization of Dario Fo’s essays by Lyto Triantafyllidou is an exploration of the Last Supper hosted by a clown, the Giullare.
Through spanning monologues, soliloquies, storytelling, dialogues and crowd scenes, the Guilare shares his revolutionary message and redefines the notion of power. Actor Panos Vlahos uses his technical ease to perform a number of different characters in a one-hour theological and political statement.
“Panos Vlahos, under the direction of Lyto Triantafyllidou approaches his performance with both the skill and sincerity demanded by the piece. The intention of the radical and leftist Fo, was to batter religion over the head with a club carved from the pure and simple faith of its earliest adherents in order to do away with the church and its mythos. Vlahos has taken up that club, but with different intentions. His club is of softer matter and his blows are meant to tickle rather than destroy. Vlahos is one of the faithful, and to a great extent succeeds in using Fo to his own ends.” – Ernest Kearney
“The play is a remarkable tour de force for the gifted Vlahos who demonstrates extraordinary range as a performer […]. Vlahos is drenched in sweat from the effort of portraying so many characters, and he is so skilled at his work that we believe there are dozens of people there on the stage, some of them hilarious, others poignant, but all distinctly human.” – The National Herald
"The very absence of a setting is the very presence of the performer, as a solitary and paranoid schizoid that seeks for a vengeful redemption, communion and recognition by the public.The protagonist, powerless as he is, speaks against the religious establishment in a state of frenzy and ecstasy. Controversial yet powerful, disturbing yet affirmative, tragic yet extremely comical this play is meant to shock and unsettle the audience. Panos Vlahos does an excellent job in keeping the audience captivated and on edge, something novel, yet familiar.” – The Odyssey
The Director
Lyto Triantafyllidou is a New York based theater director, interested in developing theater that creates a new and original dialogue with our reality, through researching and revitalizing under-represented works from the global stage, adapting classical material and collaborating with authors on new plays. Lyto recently graduated from the MFA Directing program at The New School for Drama and holds a BA degree (directing major) from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Fines Arts, School for Drama. She has presented work in different festivals and platforms in New York and Greece. Her directing projects include: Miss Margarida’s Way by Roberto Athande, No Way Home by Allan Staples , Pool (No Water) by Mark Ravenhil, A Few Things Before I Leave You by Daniel Kitrosser , As you desire me by Luigi Pirandello, The Line by Israel Horovitz. She is at www.lytotr.com
The Actor
Panos Vlahos is an established Greek actor, songwriter and musician. He has acted in theaters, feature films, TV and web series in his home country. His last two performances where productions of the National Theater of Greece, presented at the prestigious Ancient Theater of Epidaurus. Panos is the youngest actor ever to perform the role of Xanthias, in Aristophane’s Frogs, in Epidaurus. His first album “Children’s Games” was released by the label Ogdoo Music Group in 2015. Mistero Buffo is Panos’ debut performance in the Unites States.
panosvlahos.com.