Day 26 - Vocational Visit (Jon)

Once again, I spent the morning in the company of the Technical Department of the National Theatre of Northern Greece. I met with the Technical Manager, Stelios and his Assistant, Kostas. Also there was Sofia, the theatre's Public Relations Manager. Between the four of us we talked about the technical elements of their production of King Lear; the way the NTNG "institution" is ran; issues of politics and funding both within the institution and in government; health and safety policies and practices; technological advances in theatre and the working relationship between technicians and other theatre staff.

Kostas, Jon and Stelios
Jon and Sofia

They were keen to ask me questions about an equivalent theatre in the UK so we jumped onto the Internet and I showed them the websites of The Lowry, The Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre (London). I was surprised that they were not aware of these theatres and their initiatives and I have offered to try to establish contacts for them on my return.

The websites for the various theatres are...
National Theatre Northern Greece (Thessaloniki)
National Theatre (London)
Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford)
The Lowry (Manchester)

The morning concluded with a detailed tour of the National Theatre. On the stage there was a rehearsal in progress of "Trojan Women" which the company is performing outdoors this summer. Kostas and I and another technician, George, made our way through the labyrinth building and I was able to see the hydraulics under the stage; the wings and access spaces; the flies; the gantry; the dressing rooms and the costume department.

Wardrobe display in the foyer
The lighting gantry with the rehearsal visible below

I would like to thank Stelios, Kostas, Sofia and George for their hospitality in the last two days. My visits to their theatre have been the icing on the cake during my stay here and I feel privileged to have met with them and seen their place of work.

__

The team all met up together to say farewell to District Governor Panos and Takis & Theano. We cannot express our sincere thanks greatly enough for everything that they have done for us and for the wonderful way that we have been received and treated across District 2481. Thank you again!

We concluded our daytime schedule by having lunch with members of the Rotary Club of Thessaloniki Panorama. We were grateful to them for seeing us on our final scheduled day and it was a pleasant way to end our contact with the Rotarians here. We have a night and day to ourselves in this fantastic city before we leave for home in the middle of Saturday night.

Team with RC Thessaloniki Panorama