Eftychia Spyridaki

(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 approaches all her work prioritizing the safety of artists and audience. She 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

Theatre Director
Actor
Drama Educator

Eftychia is a professional actor, director, dramaturg and drama educator from Thessaloniki, Greece, currently based in Dublin.She was Dead Centre’s Associate Artist for 2022.

Her latest directing credits include: Exit<Pursued by a Pint, written by Kat Ennis,produced by Feral Pen (Scene and Heard Festival 2023), Paler,Still written by Oonagh Wall, produced by Anseo|Anois Theatre and assisting directing in Dead Centre’s Good Sex (Assistant Director, Dublin Theatre Festival 2022).

She has also served as an assistant director alongside Louise Lowe in Mabel’s Magnificent Flying Machine (Gate Theatre 2021), in Staging the Treaty and Wakefires (2021-2022 ANU Theatre Company).

Eftychia holds a Bachelor in acting from the Drama School of the National Theater of Northern Greece, and a Bachelor of Theater Studies with an integrated Master of Arts from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She also holds an MFA in Theatre Directing by the Lir National Academy of Dramatic Arts(Trinity College University).

She is the playwright of Common Crow’s first show Krabat and the Magic of Disobedience which was a co-production with Sofft Productions and was performed as a sight specific show during Sofft Nights Festival (Dunderry Park co.Meath 2022).

Her artistic interests lie in new approaches in staging and modernising ancient Greek tragedy and raising awareness for social and political issues on stage.Her creative process is informed by her volunteer work with underrepresented communities with a focus on the refugee crisis. She maintains special interests in ensemble theatre, documentary theatre, literary adaptation, and magical realism.

Directing Work

In Ireland

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.


In Greece

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.