(she/her)

“To work with Eftychia is always lovely and intense.
She gets so excited through her art and so involved in the plays she works on! Everything she creates turns out to be pure magic and poetry.” – Franziska

“Eftychia is inspired by the mystery of myth, the innocence of children, and the perseverance of people who survive extraordinary circumstances. She embraces theatricality by incorporating dreamlike components into her aesthetic.” – Holly

Eftychia is a theatre-maker(director, performer, dramaturg and drama educator) from Thessaloniki, Greece, currently based in Dublin.

In 2024, she was awarded an Axis Ballymun Assemble Artists bursary and was one of the 5 recipients of the International PAN PAN Mentorship.

She was Dead Centre’s Resident Artist for 2022. During her residency she developed an original adaptation of Aeschylus’ Suppliants, based on verbatim interviews from Direct Provision residents.

Her latest directing credits include:

DUBLIN RIOTS;WHAT HAPPENED?

THOSE FLAMES,BY MAI ISHIKAWA

Axis Ballymun,2024

The Arts Review; ”… and Those Flames written and performed by Mai Ishikawa, directed by Eftychia Spyridaki and Ezra Moloney,(…) an exquisite body poem about a woman hiding under a table” https://www.theartsreview.com/single-post/the-dublin-riot-one-year-on

AFTERTASTE,BY CIARA ELIZABETH SMYTH

dlr Mill Youth Theatre group, Playshare Symposium by Youth Theatre Ireland,2024

PASSPORTS;A CONVERSATION BY AYESHA SYEDDAH AND FRIENDS

(Co-direction with Ayesha Syeddah.Dublin Fringe Festival 2023)

Ayesha (aka shaeírah) curated line up of speakers to create conversation on belonging, migration and displacement through the symbolism of a passport.  Passports;a conversation with Ayesha Seyddah and friends is a multidisciplinary event where a panel of migrant/or from migrant descent creatives, engaged in a public conversation about living and working in Ireland and performed pieces from their respective disciplines. 

Line-up of artists: Subhashini Goda, Salamay, Shauna Harris, Polina Cosgrave, Aisling Moore, Osaro Azams, Pai Rathaya, Jehnova,Denise Chalia,Asha Ari,Ania Kudriavtseva.

Photos by Ayesha Syeddah 

KRABAT AND THE MAGIC OF DISOBEDIENCE,BY EFTYCHIA SPYRIDAKI

SoFFt Night’s Festival, by SoFFt Productions, Dunderry Park,2022

Krabat is a collaborative project inspired by Eftychia’s work as a youth theatre facilitator in Greece, Germany and Ireland.

It is a story of a young girl called Krabat allowed the audience to contemplate questions of intergenerational conflict and the duty of disobedience within a magical context. When do traditions no longer apply to our current reality? And what does it mean for a young person to move against age-old rules and traditions?

The production of the play was produced by SoFFt Productions as part of 2022’s SoFFt Nights’ summer Festival in Dunderry Park where the play was staged as a promenade show.

PALER,STILL BY OONAGH WALL

Smock Alley, Boys School,21-16th November,2022

In an evocation of Dublin’s Pale,the rising seas of future Ireland have caused the Capital and its environs, the ‘GDR’ to move further inland. Her protagonists, childhood friends Liam and Aisling, played by Eanna Grogan and Amy Kidd, have crossed the border which separates the country, in search of solace and healing after her nervous breakdown.

“Eftychia Spyridaki’s direction comes into its own as she knits together a seamless collaboration of the players and their roles.(…) The twists are dark and unexpected. Think ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue.(…)Go see Paler, Still to witness some excellent, emerging talent.” The Reviews Hub

Midwinter by Zinnie Harris

GradFest 2020 – Midwinter is the second in a trilogy of plays which begins with Solstice and culminates in Fall. It is a parable about war as an infectious disease that keeps corrupting the human body and mind, slowly eliminating the humanity in humans.

Sylva

Based on the book “The Round of Death by Thomas Korovinis.  Sylva is the real story of a notorious folk singer that narrates the story of one of Thessaloniki’s first queer personalities, Aristidis Pagkratidis, “Aristos”. Aristos was accused for the murder and raping of several college students and was sentenced to death in 1968. His sentence and execution are still an unresolved issue in Thessaloniki’s history , as after his death, new evidence have manifested in favour of his innocence. The show explored his story through Sylva’s grief.

Those in the Tomb – Excerpts from the book of war

Based on the novel by Stratis Mirivilis Life in the Tomb
Official Selection for Venice Open Stage Festival 2018

Those in the Tomb. Excerpts from the book of war is adaptation of the famous novel by Statis Mirivilis. It depicts the adventures of lieutenant Antonis Kostoulas fighting in the trenches during World War 1, through the protagonist’s own narration. Eftychia adapted the script and co-created a stage version with an ensemble of 13 actors, that consisted both from students and professionals. Together, they collectively told the story of Antonis Kostoulas by using children’s games as a their main dramaturgical adaptation and staging technique.

The ensemble’s statement about the show:

“Stratis Mirivilis wrote about the nastiest, ugliest thing in the world while creating a poem about life. We still cannot understand how; that is why we created this work.”

The Greek word for “crows” is “koraki” (κοράκι). The word can also refer to a hunter, an immoral person, a funeral home owner, or a daughter.