ALL ANTWERP. “Theatre is the mirror of society” (Antwerp)
Every weekday our reporter and photographer pick a casual passer-by off the street for a nice conversation. Want everyone has a story. And certainly in Antwerp. This week we listen to the stories of those who care about culture and who protest against the cutbacks in culture in the shadow of the City Hall. Today: Timon Kouloumpis (19).
I study Acting at the Conservatory, third year. My father is Greek. I had Greek class on Saturday and had quite a lot of energy. It was the teacher who said if I wasn’t going to go to theater. That’s how I ended up at the academy, then at the art high school in Brussels and now at the conservatory.
But it’s not like my Greek roots played a role in that. People often think that theater originated in Greece, it originated much longer. But when I was little we often went to open air theater in Greece. There you have a lot of those amphitheaters.
Film and theater really appeal to me. I like provocative theater when it’s slim. Julien Hetzel is such a maker that I like to see at work. He looks for breaks in the system and sticks his shovel in it so that questions are asked. I think that’s the essence, that theater is the mirror of society. I find it a pity when what happens in the theater and in ‘real’ life are far from each other. That further dialogue is necessary. It is an interesting medium to get a message out.
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