Stathis Livathinos
Recently appointed Artistic Director of the Greek National Theatre Livathinos is possibly one of the most exciting directors in the current European theatre spectrum. Livathinos has been able to translate some of the classic texts to powerful, punchy works on stage using a rich language. His 4-hr Illiad may be one of the best examples of intelligence in bringing such a complex piece to the audience with a superb actorial work direction. With this work he was invited to Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Chora, Theatre of Piraeus, in Greece; Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam; Mérida International Theatre Festival and Madrid’s Centro Dramático Nacional in Spain; Cypria International Theatre Festival, Cyprus; CINARS Biennale, Montreal; Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival, Chile or Sibiu Festival in Romania.
Earlier in 2015 he directed a new theatre production of The Marriage of Figaro based on Beaumarchais at the Megaron Concert Hall. Livathinos has directed a long list of successful productions including The Idiot, Danton’s Death, The House of Bernarda Alba, Carmen, King Lear or Glengarry Glenn Ross.
Prior to his appointment as Artistic Director of the Greek National Theatre he had been Artistic Director of the National Theatre’s Experimental Stage in 2001-07.
Born in Athens, Livathinos studied acting at the Pelos Katselis Drama School, English literature at the University of Athens and directing at Moscow's State Institute for Theatre Arts. He graduated from the Department of Theatre at the Russian Academy of Theater Art (GITIS) in 1990 with an M.A. in Theatre Direction with distinction and an M.F.A. in Theatre Acting. (Class: A. Goncharov – M. Zaharov, 1984-1990).
He was awarded the Moscow Critics Award for his thesis performance Rosencrantz and Guildestern are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, which was staged in the Mayakovsky Theatre between 1990 and 2001 as part of the repertory.
Livathinos has taught in different universities in Greece, Russia as well as Harvard in the US.