PERSOU to Premiere This Spring at the Cell Theatre

Co-creators Ellpetha Tsivicos and Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez will present the world premiere of Persou, an experiential festival celebrating Spring. Performances will be held at Nancy Manocherian's the cell Theatre in Manhattan Wednesdays through Saturdays from May 19 to June 5, 2021.

Persou is directed by Ellpetha Tsivicos and written by Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez, who previously collaborated in August 2020 on the immersive, socially-distanced outdoor play Quince, dubbed "endearing and exhilarating" by The New York Times. A co-production with The TEAM, Quince marked the first live theatre event in NYC during the pandemic.

Persou invites audiences to a mysterious, ancient ceremony welcoming the rebirth of Spring and bidding farewell to the dark, barren Winter. Drawing on Homeric hymns, the poetry of Giorgos Seferis and traditional dances, Persou will transport audiences to the Temple of Aphrodite in Paphos, Cyprus. As audiences enter the Temple, they become party to the goddess Demeter's sneaky plot to make a deal with the gods that would eradicate Winter forever by creating a kingdom of endless Spring. Exploring loss, death, displacement and grief, Persou's women seek to build their own mythology that challenges the cruel order of the world.

Persou is a participatory experience in which guests will feast upon sights, sounds, and tastes as they are transported to an ancient celebration in Cyprus. Audience members will be free to inhabit the temple and join fellow pilgrims seeking communion amid live music, bitesize snacks, and a vivid dream-like surrounding. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request for guests who are unable to walk or stand for the duration of the performance.

After the long journey through Winter, join your fellow pilgrims seeking communal catharsis. Join a festival of gratitude for the new season. Draw on ancient wisdom and unite your journey with ours into a new season of growth and shared experience. Καλώς Ορίσατε!

Persou features set design and art direction by Kendra Eaves, lighting design by Megan Lang, mask design by Zoë Andrea Batson and Gamma Lister, costume design by Scarlet Moreno, and prop design by Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez and Emma Lauren Fasulo. The cast features Anthoula Katsimatides, Ioanna Katsarou, Katherine Hreib, Vassilea Terzaki, Alia Scheirman, Kristina Maria Headrick and Stefani Charitou Segal. By engaging with artists and ancestral traditions from the Eastern Mediterranean diaspora, the production seeks to unseat familiar colonial interpretations of Hellenism, bacchanals and Anglicized portrayals of Eastern Mediterranean and Hellenic culture.

The cell's sweeping, ornate 18-foot front windows will remain open throughout the performance, leading into the vaulted ceilings of the main room and backyard via a fully retractable back wall, which will remain open throughout the performance to allow for airflow, social distancing, and an indoor-outdoor experience. In addition, the cell has been equipped with a new air filtration system. Audience sizes will be limited to 20 people per performance, and everyone will be required to wear masks and provide information for contact tracing. All safety precautions will be overseen by an OSHA certified Production Infection Control agent.

Tickets for Persou start at $35 and are available at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/thecelltheatre/519624. Please reach out to PersoutheShow@gmail.com to request a ticket priced on a sliding scale. As capacity is limited, tickets must be reserved in advance for admission.

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