Lars von Trier's "Idioterne" (Idiots) is staged for the first time in Greece by ProvaT.O. Athens in an adaptation by Vangelis Laskaris. The film was shot based on the principles of Dogme 95*, which is an artistic manifesto - a reaction to Hollywood culture, pioneered by Trier and Vinterberg , which essentially puts a "purity zone" in the process of creating a film: camera in hand (obligatory), shooting exclusively in natural spaces, no artificial decor, no artificial lighting, no effects of any kind, etc. etc. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, although critics to this day conflict over whether the film is a "Masterpiece" or "Trash".

PLOT:

In "Idiots," Trier files yet another provocative story. A group of cultured young men decide to react to the social reality they are experiencing by organizing a commune of "idiots". Their main activity consists of their interventions in the world of normal people, aimed at the moral principles that govern the Western world. The Idiots create chaos and anarchy wherever they find themselves. By their actions they will provoke, shock, annoy, and ridicule themselves and their fellow human beings.

THE PERFORMANCE:

The transfer of Lars von Trier's "idea" to the theatre stage could not have happened without the decision to create our own system of rules. DOGMA 2020 follows some rules from Dogme 95 that applies to theatre and we added some that apply to us and theatre today.

DOGMA 2020:

 Props and stewardship items on stage are not allowed unless they are in the performance space or are personal items of the actors.

The stage and audience must communicate, there is no fourth wall, the stage is integrated with the audience space.

Special effects are not acceptable.

Frivolous action is prohibited. Murders, weapons, etc. must not be present.

The director does not refer to the credits

The subject of the play must be social and political in nature and must relate to the social situation today.

The play takes place in the here and now and each time it is somewhat different.

When the play is written by a foreign author we do not adjust the place and the characters to Greece.

In the show, the idiots will be confronted on stage with "normal" people. Their coexistence is an experiment that tests our social endurance, our tolerance for difference, the limits of extremist action and the reasons for its existence. We put the question on the table: Who is normal and who is stupid? We return to the question : How stupid can you be for what you believe? We laugh when we think we are more stupid than we think we are. In the end, "The Idiots" is a play by idiots, for idiots, about idiots. People who do theatre are idiots, anyone different is idiot, people who want to live free are idiots. Idiots are a minority, all minorities are idiots. The idiots are the people of the future.