Vassilis Magouliotis: It is in the nature of man to deceive and to be deceived.
N. Gogol's "Players" directed by George Koutlis, the show that was loved like few others returns for another summer and Vassilis Magouliotis who talks about it, the secret of its success, the deception and the theatre in human life, as well as his collaboration with George Koutlis.
Why again "Players" Vassilis?
We love this show very much and as much as we have performed it so many times and got tired and experienced the routine of course, the thought of doing it again excites us all. The reasons are firstly because we want to, secondly we hear that people want to see it again or someone who didn't get to see it. Especially this summer condition suits the show very well and has prompted us to do it again.
What do you think is the reason for the success of the show?
This is something we have often discussed with the children and we try to understand what exactly is the reason but I think it is very difficult to understand. It's a combination of factors that if we knew exactly what it was we would repeat it with complete success, but unfortunately there's no formula. Certainly things that admittedly helped make it a success in all respects was that we were a group of friends having a great time playing. At the same time the fact that the show was born in quarantine and we went into rehearsal feeling like we hadn't played our favorite game in a long time and that gave us a huge boost. Finally the show and because of the live music had a connection with the audience.
How was it decided to set up the show at this frenetic pace that we see?
The original idea was George Koutlis's and how the passion for gambling, gambling and this obsession to cheat each other as it happens over a poker table would meet with the improvisations of the musicians. This was the alloy that George wanted to try. At the same time the people he chose for this project especially me, Giannis, Elias and Alexandros were people who besides being actors we were also friends so this in rehearsals transformed into something else.
One part that was agreed upon from the beginning to be improvised was the part where John (Stepan) tries to convince Elias (Sasha) to come to the table. Slowly, however, the theme of improvisation began to spread throughout the performance. So there were many points where occasionally an idea would come up and be incorporated into the show and then played for a while with that version. The same was true with the musicians where depending on the style and design the rhythm changed.
Gogol generally in his works has a well-intentioned irony. He very much likes to reveal on stage often the smallness of the human soul. All this with a comic mood but at the same time bitter. Of course this play is no exception. There are the characters who are victims within the play and there are those who are perpetrators.
Tell me about your collaboration with George Koutlis and the relationship you have with him?
Does the game of deception and hypocrisy coexist in humans?
Yes, of course they do. I think we are constantly deceived people and we are constantly trying to deceive either ourselves or others. We play a lot of theatre in our lives in all its manifestations, it's hard not to play theatre, sometimes of course that's not a bad thing. We often deceive ourselves to get what we want or then ourselves with narratives I think people's encounters will always have this either unintentionally or intentionally.