Advance booking has begun

Rehearsals continue for the Events 2023-2024: “Youth on a deserted island” production,  A monster calls, a play based on the novel by Patrick Ness, inspired by an original idea by Siobhan  Down. Adapted by Sally Cookson & Adam Peck and devised by the "Original Company".

The production will premiere on Friday 12 November 2023 at Theatre Apothikes.

About the play

Ever since his mother first became ill, thirteen-year-old Conor O’Malley has been afraid of the night and the dark dreams that it brings. Almost nightly, at seven minutes past midnight, he is visited by a monster in the form of an ancient yew tree, who tells him three stories. For Conor, however, the real nightmare unfolds during the day: his mother is battling cancer, his grandmother is domineering, his father has become a stranger to him, and he is being bullied at school. As he becomes lost in the monster’s stories, Conor realises that his real demon is his own truth, a truth that lies deep within himself.

The powerful young adult novel by the American author Patrick Ness, published in 2011, was adapted for the theatre eleven years later for the Old Vic by Sally Cookson and Adam Peck, and devised by the original company. Through their careful reading of the text, Irene Andreou and Giannis Karaoulis stage the play in a way that skilfully negotiates the transition from reality to fantasy. The creative team and the actors give voice to the young hero’s mental landscape of fear, anger, sadness and loneliness, but also warmth, understanding and recognition.

A Monster Calls is an important story that combines simplicity with depth, and pain with optimism. It asks crucial and urgent questions, both from the perspective of a teenager and that of an adult, which are connected to important stages in a person’s life. Above all, it demonstrates that adolescence is a difficult time, and that loss is often too much for a teenager to deal with. However, someone needs to listen to him if he is to understand and cope with his feelings.

Translated and adapted by Eleni Moleski
Directed by Irene Andreou and Giannis Karaoulis
Set & Costumes: Eleni Ioannou
Music & Soundscape design: Lefteris Moumtzis
Choreography: Fotini Perdikaki & Hamilton Monteiro
Lighting design: Georgios Koukoumas
Video design: Anna Fotiadou

The cast (in alphabetical order): Stelios Andronikou, Iasonas Asimakopoulos, Annie Chouri, Giorgos Kyriakou, Nikos Manolas, Ioanna Papamichalopoulou, Andreas Patsias, Melanie Steliou

Performances for the general public:

Nicosia | Theatre Apothikes
From 12 November 2023

every Saturday at 8.30pm and Sunday at 6pm

Performances for secondary schools

Information/Bookings: tel. 22864330

"A monster calls" has been published in Greek by Pataki Publications (https://bit.ly/3Jt1GPa).