Ourania Papanikolaou
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005 (Creator & Performer) 2019

A Refugee's Tale, Epidaurus Lyceum

A Refugee Tale is a performance piece, inspired by Elfriede Jenike’s Charges and the story of Aziz, a Syrian refugee arriving on the shores of Lesvos.

I approached Aziz’s story through focusing on memory, displacement, and the emotional weight carried across borders. The piece was directed by Christiane Pohle and presented at the Epidaurus Sanatorium, where it was given a dimension of transcendence through the site’s history of care and confinement.

It was accompanied by the Kommos Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Sine Qua Non, adding a physical and musical layer that expanded the narrative into a collective act.

Kommos Ensemble Rehearsals, Epidaurus Sanatorium
Kommos Ensemble Rehearsals, Epidaurus Sanatorium
Two performers face each other across a red column in a marble-floored foyer lined with glass display cases
Three performers embrace closely in a rehearsal room, arms wrapped behind one another beside a red curtain
A performer sits cross-legged before a photograph of a huddled group, surrounded by others seated on a red and blue tiled floor
Two performers rest draped over rows of stacked classroom chairs in a rehearsal room strung with red curtains
A performer stands on a chair pulling back a heavy red curtain in a doorway as others move across the marble floor in the foreground
Messenger Rehearsals
(extract from A Refugee's Tale)
Extract from A Refugee's Tale, page 1 of 2: an opening recitation of refugee statistics followed by the first half of Aziz's testimony
Extract from A Refugee's Tale, page 2 of 2: the second half of Aziz's testimony, from the crossing at sea to his closing words

Migration of a Body

Migration of a Body is a derivative performance piece I wrote following A Refugee Tale, shifting the focus from the migration of a person to the migration that happens within the body itself. Where A Refugee Tale explored displacement through narrative and testimony, Migration of a Body is tracing how adaptation and resilience register physically over time.

The text reflects on how the body absorbs change from the heightening of alertness or the dulling of energy to the negotiation between strength and exhaustion. It follows the body through states of tension, release, presence, and collapse, revealing how migration is not only geographical but deeply physiological.

Written as a standalone piece, Migration of a Body was created for choreographer Ben Arevalo to perform in Guatemala City.

Migration of a Body, page 1 of 2: an essay by Ourania Celeste Papanikolaou on the body, presence, and drama school training
Migration of a Body, page 2 of 2: the essay's closing reflections on endurance and trust in the body