“ANEMODOURA” presents the adventure of the Greek folk Character «Karagiozis and the Dragon». The show is based on traditional Greek comedy performed with shadow puppeteer’s improvisation. The story is set in Greece, during the Ottoman occupation. The great Dragon has taken up residence next to the aqueduct, blocking the access and leaving the city with no water. The lord of the city (Pasha) promises his throne and his daughter as a wife to whoever manages to kill the dragon and save the city.
Karagiozis, the protagonist, is an impoverished slave, who is constantly out of job and extremely hungry. He carries ‘on his hump’ his humour, playfulness, critical judgement and clarity. He can be very generous, courageous and selfless, although he has the tendency to joke, mock, lie, disobey, beat and steal from others. The performance is an invitation for the audience to learn about the characters’ homelands all around Greece (through music, clothing and dialects).
Babis Kostidakis was born in Athens. As his father was a shadow theater performer, he got in touch with the art of Greek traditional shadow theater (Karagiozis) from an early age. He performs Karagiozis shadow puppetry shows in theaters, schools and festivals in Greece and Cyprus. He creates the shadow puppets and scenery sets himself. He participates in exhibitions of shadow puppets.
He facilitates shadow theater workshops (creation and animation of shadow puppets) for children and adults. Babis studied a two-year training course on different types of puppetry (design, making and manipulation) at “Antamapantahou” Marionette Theater. He has also completed various other puppetry workshops, including the use of arts in mental health and education.
He also graduated from the intensive course on theatrical clown’s art, run by Gozde Atalay. In 2016 he founded “Anemodoura - Puppet and Shadow Theater”. He is a member of Greek Shadow Theater Union and a committee member of UNIMA Hellas.
