Vassilis Loukas – Living with and for the theater „Duende“

It is a warm evening late May. The spotlights illuminate the small stage in the courtyard of the old school in Mandria on Ikaria. Loud music fills the air. Then, suddenly, there is complete silence and the lights go out.

A few seconds later, loud applause breaks out and the audience cheers, calling out the names of individual actors. The spotlights come back on and the small group of actors, drenched in sweat, return to the stage and take a bow. Again and again. The applause seems never-ending.

Standing amongst the actors is Vassili, his arms around the shoulders of his fellow actors, whispering into Nikos’s ear on his right: “Wow! We’ve done it! Our very first play and it’s a success!”

(c) Theater Duende; the play “Stories from the Sea”

They all enjoy the cheers of the audience for a while longer, most of whom are friends and family members. Then the spotlights go out for good and the small group of actors retreat to the old school building, where they get changed and chat excitedly amongst themselves. So much tension falls away from them, so much nervousness.  For months they have been working towards this moment, demanding so much of themselves, their friends and their families. The play ‘Stories from the Sea’, which they premiered today, is not simply a play they have performed. It is THE very first play that they wrote themselves and directed it together. They did everything on their own – developed the story, wrote the script, designed and built the sets. It was a long journey – and a very exhausting one as it had to take place under Covid restrictions. That meant contact restrictions and everything that went with it. But they persevered. Working together had also given them a great deal of strength during these difficult times

Vassili has a kind word for everyone, but overall he is very exhausted. The last few weeks and months have been very draining for him too; but in addition to the discussions and rehearsals, as a co-director he always had to keep ‘the big picture’ in mind and guide the actors.

Yet Vassili doesn’t like the word ‘guide’ at all. Generally speaking, he defines the role of the director for himself as someone who “shows the way”, whilst the actors have the opportunity to choose for themselves how they want to shape that path. Vassili has had good experiences with this approach over the years, and he is all the more pleased that with this leadership style, the group has not only staged their first play so well, but also had a lot of fun doing so.

Change of scene:

It is summer 2025 and Vassili stands alone in the courtyard of the old school, cluttered with building materials and rubble. Nothing here now bears any resemblance to the successful theatre evening five years ago. You wouldn’t even guess that the first indoortheatre on Ikaria is being built here. Yes, exactly! This old school building, which is over 100 years old, has been thoroughly renovated and will soon serve as a permanent rehearsal space and venue for the ‘Duende’ theatre group. Gone are the days when they always had to rent a room somewhere for their meetings and rehearsals; gone are the constant worries about where to store the necessary stage equipment.

Building site, theater “Duende”, Mandria (c) Birgit Urban

Vassili opens the door to the building and carefully inspects the interior. The ceiling beams are neatly painted, the roof is insulated and work on the floor is also progressing well. At last! Hopefully, they’ll be able to move into this space this winter and present it to the people of Ikaria.

Vassili can’t help but smile. He would never have thought it possible that he would one day become the ‘builder’ of a theatre – and a theatre for ‘his’ theatre group, no less.

Vassilis Loukas (c) Birgit Urban

That certainly wasn’t part of his ‘plan’ when he arrived on Ikaria as a young teacher in 2003. That was almost 22 years ago now, and much of what has happened in the meantime wasn’t planned that way back then. Vassili actually comes from Evia; he was raised in Athens and completed his studies in Athens in teaching and chemistry. Ikaria was back then a typical ‘posting’ for young teachers, and Vassili was sent there for his first post after graduating from university. What was intended as small chapter in his career as a teacher became his life-time story.

Vassili remembers his first encounter with the island very vividly. Already on his arrival day, the island embraced him closely and Vassili knew instantly that he wanted to stay – for the long term.

Getting to know to the island life, he developed a deep love for this place. He liked the Ikarians, particularly their sense of humour and above all, the freedom they offer to talk about anything. There was no racism and in a certain way, the Ikarians remain very progressive in his eyes. Vassili felt at home, made good friends at school and above all, soon became acquainted with the theatre group ‘Duende’, which was founded in Agios Polikarpos in 2003. At that time he did not really have experience in ‘acting’ or even ‘directing’. His own involvement with “theatre” stems from a very simple situation. Ahead of the national holidays, it is customary in Greece for school children to put on small performances. The teachers are responsible for organising these and to contribute musically. So Vassili had to get involved too, and he really enjoyed directing the children in a theatre performance and providing the musical accompaniment.

(c) Fundacion Federico Garcia Lorca

And when he found out about the theater group, he was happy to join in. The original idea was that ‘Duende’ – roughly translated as ‘goblin’ – is a reference to a work of the same name by the Spanish author Federico Garcia Lorca. The founding ideas for the theater were varied, but at the heart of it all was the desire to revitalise cultural life on Ikaria – an island situated far from the city and the ‘major’ artistic events. Yet this remoteness should be no reason to be excluded from cultural life. With this background, the theater group started very simple within the local association of Agios Polycarpos and only later “Duende” became an officially registered association by itself. For the founding members it was clear from the very begining that this theatre could only function through the cooperation and initiative of its members. All of them are amateurs who live and work on the island. In this way, ‘Duende’ of Ikaria has inherited the spirit of democracy, self-organisation and tolerance, but keeps some of the island’s relaxed pace.

This approach was not entirely new at the time, as ‘Duende’s’ theatrical work is part of a long artistic tradition on the island – and, of course, builds on the millennia-old history of Greek ‘drama’.

On Ikaria, the development of ‘modern’ theatre was particularly pronounced between 1944 and 1949, during the German occupation of Greece and later the Greek Civil War when over 10,000 political prisoners were living in exile on Ikaria. Among them were many artists, intellectuals and actors who, amongst other things, initiated cultural events on the island to make the harsh conditions of exile somehow more bearable. Although it was actually forbidden at the time, an exchange took place between the exiles and the local population, in which theatre performances also played an important role. It is from this, amongst other things, that it is deduced that a politically engaged cultural scene developed on Ikaria, which continues to this day and has also earned Ikaria the name ‘Red Island’.

Exiled Greeks on Ikaria 1947 (c) private ownership

Vassili liked the idea of the theatre group back then, as this is where many of his experiences and interests came together. He became interested in reading – and especially in reading theater pieces – in high-school and later at university, when he was engaged in political discussions. Back then, he also went to the theatre a lot. Vassili was fascinated how ideas could be brought to stage and had an impact on the public. In his view, theatre is much closer to literature, poetry and short stories – and perhaps in this way theater might be a better artistic tool to give an impulse to change the world than films can ever be.

Poster for Duende made by Vassilis Loukas

At the start of their work, the group was very enthusiastic. Every play was an adventure. And of course, the rehearsals were a challenge. The group began with five people who lived scattered across the island. This meant that meetings – particularly in winter – were constantly dependent on the weather. On top of that, the theatre group hardly had any money to buy the necessary equipment. There was no ‘public funding’ from the mayor; everything had to be organised through private initiative. And as many of the members had no previous experience of acting, a great deal of time had to be invested in this area too. It was therefore a long road, but Vassili and the other members repeatedly found ways to overcome these challenges. In the summer, they organised workshops and invited directors from all over Greece to work with them and to learn from them.

And things slowly started to look up. The great thing was that the Ikarians welcomed the theatre group with open arms. The venues were always packed for the performances. Vassili puts it this way: “The Ikarians see ‘Duende’ as ‘their’ theatre group. It’s the Ikarians who perform for them, not some outside actors. This creates a close bond between the actors and the audience. Which is exactly what we aim for. We want to perform for all Ikarians; we want to touch the hearts of the Ikarinas with our performances – across all generations. The pharmacist just as much as the waiter.”

And this approach seems to be paying off. The positive reception of their performances has meant, among other things, that ‘Duende’ has not faced any significant financial difficulties over the years. Each production is performed around 10 times, and every performance is almost always well attended, with up to 80 people in the audience.

Over the years, this financial freedom has enabled Duende to always choose their plays freely, without having to worry solely about commercial success.

For Vassili, this freedom is a great blessing. To date, “Duende” has staged 30 different productions, and Vassili has directed 17 of them. This role is always a great honour for him, but also a serious responsibility. The hardest part is always choosing the right play. At ‘Duende’, this is always a democratic process. But once it has been chosen, it becomes a ‘Holy Bible’ for Vassili. As director, he must be the first to grasp the meaning of the play and to develop a vision for its realisation. And that is hard work, because the play becomes a constant companion for Vassili. It can happen that he spends day and night thinking only about the text, turning almost every single word over and over in his mind until it reveals itself to him within the context of the work as a whole.

What’s more, ‘Duende’ doesn’t simply ‘perform’ the play: a play raises many questions but offers few answers. It is therefore up to the director and the actors not only to find these answers, but also to bring them to life through creative and theatrical means and to present their interpretations to the audience.

And the choice of texts has also changed over the years. Whereas in the early days they staged many foreign authors, viewing the stage as a place where the world could be changed, in recent years ‘Duende’ has increasingly devoted itself to modern Greek authors. This also meant that the themes have shifted. Now the focus is more on self-reflection: how do we see ourselves? This also takes place within the context of the question: can theatre lead to a change in mindset?

These are all profound questions and discussions that the “Duende” theatre company engages with intensively. Vassili loves these periods of intellectual engagement with the plays. He loves not only how the texts develop, but especially how everyone grows with the play, forming connections with their roles and with one another. None of them emerges from this development process as they were when they entered.

And of course, this is very demanding and time-consuming for everyone. Consequently, a certain degree of turnover within the theatre group has been observed at “Duende” over the years. Not everyone is able to attend rehearsals regularly anymore. As a result, “Duende” also faces certain challenges in terms of recruiting new members.

Vassili is therefore very grateful that his family is supporting him in his voluntary work with “Duende” for many years now. In the meantime Vassili got married and has two children. The kids are particularly proud of him and encourage him to act with them at home as well.

Of course Vassili is delighted about this, but at the moment he simply doesn’t have enough time for it. This ‘builder’ role, which he has taken on for the past two years with ‘Duende’ for their own theatre building, is taking up even more of his precious time.

Building site “Theater Duende”, Mandria/Raches (c) Birgit Urban

But he stands by this decision: ‘Duende’ was able to take over and renovate the school following an official decision by the mayor. The mayor only covered part of the costs; “Duende” financed the majority of the renovation itself. They organised a crowdfunding campaign and were themselves surprised that they managed to raise the necessary funds. Through their own efforts, as well as with the support of an Ikarian company, but especially with the help of other theater groups from Aegean islands and supporters, the building is now almost complete.

Inside the old school house (c) Vassilis Loukas

Duende rehearsel at their new place (c) Vassilis Louksa

During his tour of the school’s interior, Vassili spots a few more issues that he absolutely must discuss with the roofer in the next few days. But otherwise: the building site is progressing… well, in Ikarian terms, that is to say, everything is running late. But the theatre group had already factored that in. And, after all, they now intend to stick to an opening date in spring 2026. They’re already working on a suitable play.

Before Vassili closes the door behind him, he turns around once more and looks out across the large hall. Before his eyes, he can already see the stage, the spotlights, the rows of seats. He is looking forward to performing in this space, bringing new themes to the stage here with ‘Duende’, and offering the Ikarians plenty of ‘food for thought’ in their own small theatre.

Who would have thought about this back in 2003? A theatre of their own for ‘Duende’ – a small theatre for Ikaria?  So the next time Vassili is asked whether life on Ikaria isn’t too boring due to the lack of cultural offerings, he can point out that the “Duende” theatre group remains committed – now in its own venue – to contributing to the island’s artistic development. And that’s quite a big task… Vassili is aware of this, but it doesn’t scare him. He knows he’s in good hands with the theatre group. It’ll be fine! And with that, he resolutely turns the key in the school building’s door and hurries back to his car. The kids are waiting, and he still has to help his son learn his lines for the school play… we’ll see – perhaps ‘Duende’ will get some young acting talent after all.

Vassilis Loukas, 2025, (c) Birgit Urban

(Text and photos @Birgit_Urban)