“The Madwoman of Chaillot” by Jean Giraudoux
(Summer 2026)
One fearless woman vs. the machinery of greed
Aurelia, the madwoman of Chaillot, is the embodiment of an unaffected, fey, romantic nature. When she learns that a group of cynical businessmen plans to get rich from the oil that supposedly exists beneath Paris, she enlists the help of friends who, like her, are opposed to the tyranny of money. Her enemies, blinded by greed, stumble into the trap that she sets for them.
The Madwoman of Chaillot is an outdoor theatrical production by the Theatrical Workshop of Preveza, directed by Lili Sakka.
The play deals with the problem of the ruthless exploitation of the natural environment by speculators, who are represented by greedy speculators, brokers and moneylenders and are presented as voracious rodents who leave destruction and desolation in their wake.
The person who undertakes to exterminate them is a crazy old woman from the Parisian streets, the Countess Auréli.
The eccentric madwoman organizes the neighborhood’s poor—ragpickers, cesspool cleaners, flower sellers, street singers, acrobats, dishwashers, and waiters— into a united front;
With their help, she manages to cast the entire rabble of profiteers into the sewers of Paris, ridding humanity of their presence once and for all.
The play denounces the murder of beauty and truth by a mechanized civilization that stifles vital sources of human life—such as humor, love, emotion, the poetry of nature, and spontaneous simplicity.
Production Credits:
Author: Jean Giraudoux
Translation: Yannis Thivaios
Direction – Text Adaptation: Lili Sakka
Movement Direction – Stage Design: Lili Sakka
Costumes: Kostas Lakis
Music Supervision: Kosmas Markis
Music – Song Lyrics: Anna Barkouzou
Poster Designer: Kostas Lakis
Sound – Lighting: Thodoros Tolis – db sounds
Production Coordinator: Georgia Papadioti
Stage Manager: Elena Tzima
Public Relations: Kostas Pappas
Photography: Pericles Giannoulatos
Coordination - Production manager: Photini Papahatzi
Cast:
Gogo Armyra: Josephine / Journalist
Athena Nikolopoulou: Flower Seller
Elli Kakosimou: Baroness / Sewer Worker / Police Officer
Kosmas Markis: President / Ragpicker / Old Man
Vangelio Ballou: Shoelace Seller / Lifeguard
Anna Barkouzou: Gabrielle
Ioanna Bobori: Constance
Anda Nika: Aurélie, the Madwoman of Chaillot
Lina Pantazi: Irma
Spyros Papadiotis: Prospector
Kostas Pappas: Pierre
All: The Ensemble