GONOS Project: Beginners
A performative exploration of parenthood
June 2026, Zürich
Do you consider yourself a child or a parent?
If you have – or imagined you will – experience the latter, do you remember when you transitioned from one stage to the other?
Do you believe that one condition restricts or excludes the other?
What happens when both coexist?
Could we also identify a third nature/condition as a process of transformation?
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"GONOS Project: Beginners" explores the complex and often contradictory experience of parenthood. Drawing on Hannah Arendt’s idea that every human being carries the potential for a new beginning, the work approaches parenthood as an ongoing process of transition and reconfiguration. Rather than following a linear narrative, the performance unfolds through poetic vignettes: from the anticipation of new life to the everyday acts of care, and the path toward autonomy and separation. Within this space, the personal meets the collective, while movement, speech, and image coexist equally. The performance focuses on physicality and the creation of an immersive stage environment. It emerges from an extensive period of collective research and experimentation, grounded in devising theatre practices.
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Concept / Artistic Direction: Daphne Kokkini
Dramaturgical Collaborators: Maria Skiada, Georgia Vlassi, Sara Barosco
Video / Stage Installation: Daphne Kokkini
Music: Anastasia Alamanou
Assistant Directors : Zoe Shegaj, Maro Sarkiri
Costumes: Anastasia Alamanou, Sofia Symeonidou
Set-design Collaboration: Apostolis Tsikas
Technical Support : Lorenzo Demenga
Acting Coach & Workshop collaborator: Ζoe Shegaj
Production Coordination : Giorgos Mathioudakis, Dimitris Tombros
Performers: Anastasia Alamanou, Giorgos Alvanos, Antonis Kamariotis, Giorgos Mathioudakis, Sofia Symeonidou, Dimitris Tombros, Apostolis Tsikas
Featuring: Grigoris Grigoriadis, Angeliki Dimitropoulou, Marina Köhler, Eleni Papadaki, Elli-Areti Scıaranettı, Anastasia Tombrou
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The research process of the performance was enriched by presentations and contributions from: Anastasia Alamanou, Vasiliki Vasilopoulou, Georgia Vlassi, Daphne Kokkini, Giorgos Mathioudakis, Konstantina Dobrou, Xanthippi Paschalidou, Maria Skiada, Anastasia Tombrou, Dimitris Tombros, Anna Tsichli-Boisonnas.
The texts of the performance were shaped through collective improvisations and original material by the company. They include texts by: Anastasia Alamanou, Grigoris Grigoriadis, Eleni Papadaki, Daphne Kokkini, Maria Skiada, Sofia Symeonidou, Apostolis Tsikas, as well as an excerpt from a poem by Manolis Anagnostakis.
The video material includes original content created for the performance, as well as material kindly provided by: Giorgos Alvanos (private archive) and Projekt Equinox (Daphne Kokkini Werkraum).
