Weekly supplement by Insider Publications • insider-publications.com • facebook.com/insiderpublications • No 87 • Friday, December 11, 2015 DANCE CIRQUE ELOISE
OPERA THE SNOW QUEEN
A truly contemporary circus experience as Canada’s Cirque Eloise brings its spectacular show ID – a blend of classic circus arts with urban breakdance and hip-hop - to town from December 15-20 at Megaron Concert Hall, Vass. Sofias and Kokkali, megaron.gr
Who’s afraid of the Snow Queen? One of Hans Christian Andersen’s most powerful tales – the story of friendship and the triumph of love over wickedness – has been turned into a heart-warming family opera this Christmas season (Dec 22-30) at Onassis Cultural Centre, 107-109 Syngrou, sgt.gr.
INTERVIEW
Below the Belt
UPCOMING EVENTS
Amanda Dardanis catches up with Greece’s favourite stand-up comedian Katerina Vrana ahead of her raunchy new show Following on from her smash sell-out debut “Feta With the Queen”, the wickedly funny Katerina Vrana – she of the crazy exploding volcano hair - is back on stage with a saucy new routine called “About Sex”. The English-language show is about, well, sex. And her fear that many of us are not doing it right. Examples include advertising, sexting, Tinder, food and gymnastics! Kat Vrana… we meet again! So… why a sex show? Well, why not? Actually, it all started when I saw a Louis Theroux documentary on the effects of online porn on the porn industry. It was fascinating and was the initial spark for this show. I ended up going down a deep rabbit hole of research after that, even watching nature documentaries. I explain it all in the show. How important is it to have a sense of humour about sex? Well, for me it’s paramount. If you don’t have a sense of humour about sex then some uncomfortable moments can become SUPER AWKWARD and ruin the whole thing. I think it’s very important to be able to laugh off the awkwardness. Are Brits more prudish about sex than Greeks? Nope. The exact opposite. Greeks are hugely prudish and conservative when it comes to sex. Have you performed the show in any other countries? How did it go down (so to speak!) (Hahahhaha see? I told you about the double entendres and puns!) I performed it in
Melbourne in April 2015 and it went really well. It sold out and I got some amazing feedback from the audience. I even got a standing ovation on one night which is a rare thing in stand-up. (Of course, the night I got the standing ovation, half an hour after my show I was performing to a gig with 5 people in the audience and a terrible atmosphere but that’s the beauty of comedy: it keeps you so grounded!) I know your dad is a big fan of your standup shows… we saw him in the front row at Feta. But will you be asking him to sit this one out? (it takes a brave woman to make sex gags in front of the Parentals!) Awww my poor parents!! They’ve been so lovely and supportive, they’ve both seen the show and had different feedback. Though they both liked it, my mum’s main concern was that it wasn’t vulgar and my dad said “It is a bit daring, though, isn’t it? For Greece.” How have things changed in the dating and mating game since you first started “hooking up”? I think a lot more communicating is done online and via texting. The face-to-face hasn’t changed so much, the ways of getting in touch - or avoiding it - have. Also, picture messaging and skype and video calling means there’s loads more “virtual” sexual interaction. What are your thoughts on Tinder? (Friend or Foe?) It’s fun. Brings a lighter side to online dating and hook-ups. It can get a bit weird sometimes but I think its biggest achievement has been putting the final nail in the coffin of the “lonely losers” stereotype attached to online dating. Since we’re on the subject of online dating, I recently discovered that someone in Australia is using my show post-
er as their Tinder profile! So there is a person out there whose profile pic is a big haired woman holding a book with SEX written on it. Hope it works out for them. At least they’re making their intentions clear. I think. What is the biggest turn-off in bed for you? The lack of chemistry. Sexual or otherwise. Lack of being “in sync”. That turns me off totally. How would you rate your own skills as a lover? Oh dear. No idea. Erm… shall we call up people I’ve had sex with and ask?? I can’t rate myself on this!!! I mean, ideally I’d want to be considered brilliant and get a trophy for Best Lover Ever (TM) from everyone. Even people I haven’t slept with. But I think I’m fun more than anything. Even if it goes weird and awkward, we’ll laugh about it. I’d say that’s my strong point. Great way to describe myself there. Katerina Vrana: Making Awkward Sex Fun. Kind of implies awkward sex is all I have. Ok, I’m going to stop talking now.
DANCE THE NUTCRACKER An indispensable ingredient in the magic of Christmas, The Nutcracker, accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s stirring music, comes to Badminton Theatre, December 19-27. Performed by the historic Bolshoi Ballet Academy and featuring soloists Daria Khokhlova and Artemy Belyakov, tickets are from €20-60 (€10 for children), abcd. gr or call 210.884.0600
Artfully Athens
In the lead-up to the world’s most anticipated movie release, the Star Wars Tribute Art Show presents original artwork from illustrators, comic artists, graphic and set designers, and other leading contemporary Greek artists, until December 13 at Bios Romantso, Pl. Omonoias, Anaksagora 3-5. Metaksourgeio, 216.700.3325.
This downtown boutique hotel, with the TV THIS WEEK Goddess Athena as its resident muse, is garnished with zany modern art and original painting to enliven your urban stay. Each of the hotel’s 63 rooms is like a mystery flight: with walls decorated with everything from forests and mountains to cartoon heroes and Smurfs, while more sedate rooms may feature the odd blue hippo or green pig! Located steps from the Monastiraki traditional markets, the Ermou shopping precinct, and MODERN FAMILY 7 Phil and Claire are hurt when Alex lies about her colminutes from the Acropolis, Pallas Athena lege move-in date and Luke doesn’t want to spend the Boutique Hotel puts you right in the thrum day at Phil’s open house; being landlords stresses out of it all. The sophisticated lounge bar and Mitch and Cam. Tuesdays at 21.00 on Foxlife. restaurant overlooks Kotzia Square, with outstanding dishes that include produce sourced from the hotel’s own farm in Crete. After a hard day’s Christmas shopping, take the cable car up to Mount Lycabettus to catch a mesmerizing winter sunset.
With the stores open for Christmas trading from 11am to 6pm, the next two Sundays (December 13 and December 20), why not combine your gift shopping with an urban break at one of the capital’s fantastic new art hotels that have sprung up of late – much to our great glee! Take advantage of some great festive accommodation deals, while enjoying the wonderful winter scenery, right in the beating heart of Athens. Here is Insider’s top three atmospheric art hotels: The Hipster One ATHENS WAS (Dionysiou Areopagitou Str 5, 210.924.9954, www.athenswas.gr) Right in the hub of picture-perfect Thission, came this very welcome addition to busDon’tDionisiou pick up aAreopagitou copy of Richard new whimsically titled book, Greece Through tling streetPine’s in April Irishyear. Eyes, expecting a lilting paean to his adopted home. this
FRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES
CINEMA THIS WEEK
Which animal best symbolizes your own sexual personality? See, after all the research I did into the sexual habits in the animal and insect worlds, that’s a very difficult question to answer. Pigs’ orgasms last half an hour, the female praying mantis decapitates her partner as soon as she orgasms, spiders kill their mates, all male cats have barbed-wire penises, hamsters eat their own young... Can I say beaver? For double entendre purposes and so I can say something like “because I don’t give a dam”. Congratulations on the new gig, Katerina… we are looking forward to it immensely! Thank you so much, I’m super excited about it, too! See Katerina Vrana in “About Sex” on December 11 and January 1, at 9.15pm at Theatre 104, Evmolpidon 41, Gazi. Tickets are €10. Phone 210.345.5020.
Athens Was, the new luxury hotel of Anemi Hotels group and member of Design HotelsTM, is a perfect convergence of hipster and Epicurean elements. Like the psychedelic zebra-inspired carpet, scarlet leather tub chairs, and retro wet bar that we had in our smashing Athens Was Suite (all could have come straight from the Mad Men set). Admire the Acropolis’ ever-changing light show over cocktails up on the hotel’s cosy roof terrace, while also taking in the wonderful works of Stefanos Stamios, who has a permanent exhibit at Athens Was (featuring photographs from the Archeological Museum). Re-fuel at the MODERN restaurant with its novel and light approach to Greek gastronomy. Athens Was is the perfect base for your Thission wanderings. The Quirky One GRECOTEL PALLAS (Athinas 65, Athina, 210.325.0900, www. grecotelpallasathena.com)
The New One IN(N) ATHENS (Georgiou Sourri 3 & Filellinon, 210.325.8555, www.innathens.com) A beautiful landmark building, mere moments from Syntagma Square and the never-sleeping Ermou, with the crown jewel of a tranquil inner courtyard to soothe away any urban overload. After a full day’s shopping GOOSEBUMPS or sight-seeing, nothing will seem more al- A teenager teams up with the daughter of young adult horror author R. L. Stine after the writer’s imaginary deluring than relaxing in this lovely plant-filled mons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware. space. At just 22 rooms, in(n) Athens is delightfully compact, with a chic and elegant design that brings together Hellenic marble and steel in wonderful aesthetic harmony.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR
An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend with voices by Jeffrey Wright and Frances McDormand.
EXHIBITION
COMMUNITY CAROLS AT THE HILTON Christmas comes to the Hilton Athens’ iconic lobby Wednesday, December 16, at 7pm with a festive carol service sung by the Joint European Choir of the Music School of Ilion, alongside a well-stocked Christmas bazaar hosted by The Smile of the Child, offering traditional treats, beautiful gift ideas – and the message of giving to those in need. Free admission. Call 210.728.1000
And all that Jazz…
cember 18 (those not dining, may enjoy a drink or dessert instead), at Dionysiou Areopagitou 15. To reserve your spot visit www.theacropolismuseum.gr or phone 210.900.0900. Meanwhile, Matsuhisa Athens, blessed with one of the most heavenly locales on the Athenian Riviera, is ushering in the holiday season by hosting a Sunday Jazz Project for two Sundays (December 13 and December 20). Alongside their regular a la carte menu, the famed seafront restaurant will also offer a “Chef’s Choice Menu” featuring six dishes – comprised from sushi, Nobu Special hot dishes or
CITY LIFE
EXHIBITION STAR WARS TRIBUTE
Watch FOX on OTE TV
CELEBRATION
Athens is alive with the mellow sounds of jazz this December. Whether you’re more of a sea or a city lover, there’s no better way to unwind on a winter weekend than listening to lively jazz rhythms while nursing a glass of ruby red and admiring a killer view! And Athenian jazz lovers have two stellar venues to get their fix this December. Visitors to the Acropolis Museum’s scenic gourmet restaurant can cosy up to the tunes of well-known jazz trio – Elisavet Mitsou on guitar, Pantelis Benetatos on piano and Charris Pantazis on contrabass - each Friday evening until midnight, until De-
Overdose on contemporary art this weekend (December 12-13) at Art Athina’s Gallery Weekend, in conjunction with the Hellenic Art Galleries Association, which sees around three dozen of the capital’s finest modern art spaces open their doors for free between 11am-3pm. Visit art-athina.gr for participating galleries.
A comedy centered around six 30-something friends who each think the other has it better. Fridays at 21.25 on Foxlife.
EXHIBITION CHRISTMAS FACTORY 2015 Athens’ biggest and most magical Christmas theme park returns today for the third year at the Gazi Technolopolis, Kerameikos, spreading festive joy to young and old, and featuring games, toy workshops, creative performances and a Christmas bazaar, Peiraios 100, thechristmasfactory.gr
EXHIBITION ART ATHINA
popular Donburi options – at a price of €55. All to the accompaniment of blissedout jazz sounds from the 1950s and 60s. Matsuhisa Athens, Apollonos 40, Asteras Vouliagmenis, 210.896.0510 or visit www.matsuhisaathens.com.
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Together in Digital Dreams Amanda Dardanis buckles up for a future of infinite possibility at the brilliant Digital Revolution. From the moment you disappear behind the heavy black-out curtain into rapper will.i.am’s ravishing digital installation, “Pyramidi”, it’s clear you’re in for a spectacular ride at Digital Revolution. Created exclusively for this futuristic expo by the musical entrepreneur (in collaboration with artist Yuri Suzuki), viewers are treated to a “live concert” of three robotically animated instruments playing themselves beneath an enormous 3D projection of an Egyptian pharaoh crooning about “dreams for our future”. (So entranced were we by the two giant kohl-lined eyes following our progress back and forth across the darkened room, it took awhile to twig that it’s actually will.i.am beneath that headdress). “Pyramidi”, with its catchy electronic rhapsody about a Utopian computerised future, nicely sets the tone for Digital Revolution. The exhibition, freshly arrived at the Onassis Centre from the Barbican in London, is one of the most ambitious cultural exhibitions, both in scale and scope, ever to be staged here in Athens. More than 30 years have now passed since another highly-contagious electro-tune plundered the airwaves. Anybody else old enough to remember Georgio Moroder’s “Together in Electric Dreams” in 1984? It was the title track to the world’s first sci-fi rom-com (!) about a love triangle between a man, woman … and an amorous personal computer named Edgar. Poor chunky Edgar would scarcely get a look-in alongside his slimline 2015 descendants. (Although some of his cyber cousins are on display at Digital Revolution: quaint relics from a distant age like those first Atari games consoles, an early
Sony home computer prototype. And that Speak n Spell on which ET managed to phone home all the way back in 1982). Today’s galaxy of smart phones, 3D-printing and astonishing cinematic feats like Interstellar would have been the real sciencefiction miracles back in 1984. Digital Revolution has been billed as one of the Europe’s largest ever displays of digital creativity. The forum, which runs into January 10, celebrates the extraordinary explosion of creativity that we have witnessed in recent decades, as artists, filmmakers, musicians, architects, designers and videogame developers have all become captivated by the myriad possibilities of digital technology. Our children are growing up in an era of monumental change wrought by the advent of digital technology; change that is sparking social and cultural transformations as rapid and profound as those that shunted us from the Middle Ages into the Modern Era. Like most of their contemporaries, our two daughters, aged 10 and 6, have never known a world without pixels – or Pixar. Last weekend, we took them to Digital Revolution to see what they would make of it all. Spread out over 3 buildings, there are way too many stations to cover here. But rest assured there is enough to keep the “instant gratification” younger generation entertained for hours. For us, ahem, more mature visitors, there’s the bittersweet nostalgia of seeing just how far we’ve come. Of being reunited with working models of lost childhood obsessions like the Pacman arcade console, and my old orange Donkey Kong Double-Screen Game-boy. (‘Oh my gosh, Mum, that looks so boring!’ marvelled my 10-year old before moving swiftly onto the Minecraft station.)
For the kids, the most thrilling highlights were the many interactive displays – mostly housed in the lower ground Exhibition Hall – that merge technology with art in wonderful ways. There’s the clever metallic bird sculptures perched in a tree, fashioned from discarded mobile handsets. You use an old retro push button phone to dial them up to speak to them. Or Katy Perry’s digital LED mini-skirt, designed by French techno-fashion house Cutecircuit, that changes pattern with the touch of a screen. You’ll encounter marvellous Creative Spaces such as the double-storey, digitised theatre scrim, where you can stand back-stage and be puppet master to your own psychedelic performance. This one summoned looks of enchantment from our two rarely witnessed when they are latched onto their iPads. As did “Umbrellium”, a three-dimensional light field where you collaborate with others to shape, manipulate and interact with luminous spectral forms. The most popular interactive display though is Chris Milk’s “The Treachery of Sanctuary”, a vivid digital triptych meant to represent the human journey from life to death. In the middle panel, the birds peck away at you with a thousand beaks in true Hitchock fashion, while in the last, you sprout gigantic Gabriel-style wings to represent transcendence. (We loved this exhibit. The kids thought it “creepy”.) Their favourite was the “Wishing Wall”. You whisper your wish into a mouthpiece and see it transformed into a beautiful digital butterfly that contains the sentiment of your spoken words. Each butterfly carries a wish that can be released when you catch it, or let it land on your hand. These interactive exhibits – more so than any others – hint at a future of infinite possibilities. Best of all, they return a sense of the magic of technological evolution that my childrens’ generation so takes for granted. Underlying all of it is an uplifting mood of optimism. Digital Revolution delivers a tangible sense of a potential future where we may all harness the benefits of harmonious and intuitive human connectivity. Not a bad message really in these challenging times. See Digital Revolution at the Onassis Cultural Centre until January 10, 107-109, Syngrou Ave, Athens. Ticket prices are €5 in advance, or €7 at the door. Phone 213.017.8000 or visit www.sgt.gr for special rates and details of opening times.