Play: “Abandon the Citizens” created and performed by Tina Yotopoulou and Aktina Stathaki

With the opportunity of the 90 year anniversary of the Fire of Izmir, the performance highlights a fascinating and little known part of modern history: the tragic end of the Greco-Turkish war, the expulsion of the Greek population from the Asia Minor coast and the destruction of one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the time. Using rare archival material, the performance brings on stage the powerful, poetic language of the survivors in their own words and asks the question: how can the trauma of history be staged, remembered and overcome?