A new production of Brian Friel's play Faith Healer will open at the Bellos Theatre in Athens on October 10, directed by Thanasis Dovris.
The 100-minute production features Errikos Belies's Greek translation of the Irish drama and stars a three-member cast of prominent Greek actors: Evangelos Voyiatzis, Nicole Dimitrakopoulou, and Giorgos Triantafyllidis.
Centred on a traveling troupe of performers who survive on the promise of miracles, the play explores the tension between faith and truth as living experiences that shift and erode over time. The staging uses the figure of a folk illusionist as a central dramaturgical tool, presenting magic not as proof of the supernatural, but as a quiet agreement between performer and audience built on expectation and mutual need.
Rather than deciding which character speaks the truth, the production treats truth as something created in the immediate moment through the meeting of space, storytelling, and the audience. The work serves as a study of the decay of personal, artistic, and collective faith, examining the human drive to believe even when the underlying trick is known.
Director's approach and staging
Dovris emphasized physical movement, memory, and the relationship between the viewer and the physical space. In his director's commentary, he stated that the stage requires an irrational belief from the performer in themselves, in the empty space of the stage, and in the audience. He added that spectators attend the theatre to place their trust in the performers, noting that Friel wrote about the absolute human need for hope through a Promethean urge.
Dovris also planned for the production to unfold within breathing distance of the audience, often positioning actors among theatregoers to achieve cinematic directness within the setting of a stripped-down provincial neighbourhood. International composer Panu, also credited as Panagiotis Manouilidis, provided original music and soundscapes for the show, utilizing the harsh traditional sound of the bagpipe, an ancient rural wind instrument, to connect the narrative to collective memory and universal human trauma.
Play background and performance schedule
Author Brian Friel, who died in 2015, was one of Ireland's most celebrated dramatists, known for classic works including Translations and Dancing at Lughnasa. First produced in 1979, Faith Healer is structured around monologue recollections by its characters. The revival brings Friel's celebrated drama to the Bellos Theatre, a long-established venue located at 1 Kekropos Street in the historic Plaka district of central Athens.
Following its October 10 opening, performances will take place every Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday at 9:15 p.m. Advance ticket sales are being conducted through More.com, with promotional outreach led by Yiota Dimitriadi and stage photography captured by Andreas Kanellopoulos. Audience members can also contact the venue directly by telephone at 210 3229889.
