Interview
Agoritsa Economou: Human nature is vulnerable.
Agoritsa Economou is currently participating in one of the most talked about performances of the year, "Salò, 120 Days in Sodom" directed by Aris Biniaris and based on the banned film by Pier Paolo Pasolini that was released in theaters in 1975. I met her one morning for a coffee and she talked to me about the feelings the show gave her, the joy of working after a long time of trying with Aris whom she appreciates immensely, the role of violence and power exercised on weaker people and what it is that leads the younger generation to extreme behaviours.
Would you like to tell me how you felt when you spoke to Mars about this particular collaboration?
I was very happy because we had tried to work together in the past, but due to other professional commitments it was not possible to coordinate. He is a director I appreciate, his shows are always very thoughtful and caring. So when the offer for Salo came up, even though just hearing it could possibly be troubling, I felt safe.
What is your role in the show?
Together with Ioanna Maurea, we play the two narrator cats. They unfold personal pornographic stories from their past in order to arouse the three power-torturers. In the show they are played by: Kostas Bericopoulos, Yannis Kotsifas and Hieronymos Kaletsanos.
Were you at all afraid of the way the audience will treat him?
I was prepared because in every performance, as now, the people who will watch it have their own personal opinion. Some will be moved by it, others will wonder why such a show should be performed in 2024, others will be disgusted. Possibly some will stand firmly against it, each according to their beliefs, their perceptions, their personal taste and aesthetics. I hear and respect all of them.
Do you think we are vulnerable to every cruel thing society offers us?
Human nature is vulnerable. Is there a person in the world who has not been vulnerable at least once in his or her life?I don't think so.Now what we can withstand and how far is very personal and lies in the definition of each of us.
What is it about the film as well as the show that is disturbing that creates strong feelings in the audience?
Much of the film, as well as our performance, deals with the power of man over man. The darkest or bleakest, if you will, part of human existence. I can't know what the audience will identify with, what they will sympathize with. Will they choose (consciously or unconsciously) to defend the innocent victims or will they put themselves in the place of the torturer-victims?
In the violence perpetrated by the authorities on teenagers in the play, did you make any connection with today?
I didn't have to make an association, we have solid examples of everyday madness. Beyond our personal experiences in our childhood, adolescence and even adulthood, we hear it, we see it, it's happening right next to us...unfortunately..
There is a hope that things will change, things will get better and sometimes we see the light at the end of the tunnel. But to talk about progress and evolution we need help, we need to get serious with consistency and conscience and maybe then we will be able to break the chain of I have been subjected to violence I will in turn exercise violence.
Are today's youth driven to extreme violent behaviours, and what drives them?
Without being an expert, perhaps the imprisonment they feel, poverty, lack of communication with their parents and their surroundings are some of the reasons that drive young people to extreme behaviours. If, for example, as I mentioned before, a young person has suffered violence in his family and has not received help for what is happening to him, to understand it, to place it within himself and to manage it, then he will probably at the first opportunity also commit violence to a fellow human being. A vicious cycle that never ends.
Were there different feelings between you while watching the film?
Most people who saw the film were shocked. I don't think there's a difference at what point in time you saw it. It definitely has to do with everyone's personal experience. Some can bear to see it and others can't regardless of age. It has to do with psyche and personality I believe.