Told by means of a first-person narrative accompanied by a seven-member music ensemble, Safir: Birdsong of Light and Freedom is an original musical fairy tale for young and old alike.
Audiences will also get the chance to see the illustrated story of Safir unfold before their very eyes thanks to the scroll theater techniques used on stage.
The narrator will transport us to a far corner of the desert and introduce us to Safir, who manages to lift the heavy veil of darkness that has fallen over the entire town. Helped by the mythical Simurgh, a bird encountered in Persian mythology, as well as in the Kurdish, Georgian, Armenian, and Roman traditions, Safir is here to remind us that art never stops journeying through time and space. The hope is that this boy will also shine a light into our own darkness with his music and song.
Credits
Fairy Tale Writers: Alexis and Kyriakos Eleftheriadis | Text & Song Lyric Editors: Panos Papadantonakis, Maria Zagana | Music: Kyriakos Eleftheriadis | Illustration & Scroll Theater Construction: Ilianna Skoulaki | Scroll Theater Performers: Ilianna Skoulaki, Panos Papadantonakis | Narration: Kyveli Koukoudaki | Stage Technician: Yannis Lykos | Musicians: Kyriakos Eleftheriadis: oud, saz | Yorgos Vamvounakis: qanun | Isidoros Vardaros: violin | Zeta Tzoni: cello | Kostis Zontanos: Cretan lyre, vocals | Kyveli Koukoudaki: vocals | Eleftheria Blazaki: accordion, bendir, vocals | Haris Bakas: tombak, toubeleki, davul
This production is an original work funded by the Municipality of Chania and KEPPEDICH–KAM (the Chania Municipal Culture & Environment Public Benefit Agency – Center for Mediterranean Architecture) as part of the Open Sails festival.