Nicosia for Art | On March 12 and 13, 2026, the performances of “Waiting for Godot” will be presented

Mon, 15 Dec. 2025 10:00

The Nicosia International Festival presents internationally acclaimed Greek director Theodoros Terzopoulos and the theatrical work that defined the 20th century, Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, produced by Emilia Romagna Teatro. Two performances will take place on Friday, October 31st (20:30) and Saturday, November 1st, 2025 (18:00) at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

This is a landmark production, poised between the monumental and the comic. Theodoros Terzopoulos does not “direct” in the conventional sense. He re-composes. He pierces the text. He reactivates the myth and delivers it to the present - not as narrative, but as a physical, ontological experience. It is not a play about waiting, but a mirror of existence, a muffled scream of a world in constant collapse.

What is the meaning of the play?
Who, after all, is Godot in the title, the one who never arrives? A saviour, or perhaps even God himself, as the distortion of the name in English seems to suggest? Beckett himself admitted that what interested him was not so much Godot, but the very act of “waiting”.

In “Waiting for Godot,” there are two possible answers: the struggle to communicate and coexist with the Other, the one standing before us, that mysterious and shadowy realm of repressed desires and fears, of forgotten sensations and instincts, the territory of the animal and the divine, where madness and dreams, delirium and nightmare are born. That is the journey we are called to take: towards the Other within us and towards the Other beyond us, across from us, far away. It is the same journey we undertake every day. Waiting for life’s redemption from the ties of death. An encounter with the Human? The end of all humiliation of human to human? Nothingness or waiting, as Beckett himself ironically suggests.

The enduring relevance of the work
Beckett’s work remains deafeningly contemporary. The absence of meaning, waiting for a saviour who never arrives, the vicious cycle of inertia – all these elements, though born in the age of existentialism, return to the foreground today, in an era of deeply rooted uncertainty. This is not merely Beckett. It is a descent into the unconscious of the world. Through a minimal yet charged stage design, a black box and a cross of light, the production imprints itself on the memory not only as a theatrical experience but as an existential inscription.

What the press wrote

“…what Thodoris Terzopoulos achieved in the production he staged with the Italian Emilia Romagna Teatro is unique, as it seems he managed to condense into ninety minutes everything contained in this pinnacle moment of world dramaturgy.” - Tonia Karaoglou, Athinorama

“Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, directed by Thodoris Terzopoulos, becomes a cry for our lost humanity. For the inevitably approaching social, cultural, religious, and psychological desolation. A performance of supreme stage poetry for the coming ‘nothingness.’” - Dimitris Tsatsoulis, Athens Voice

“Five charismatic Italian actors were chosen to bring to life the masterpiece of the Irish playwright, infusing it with Terzopoulos’ aesthetic, blended with elements of their Italian theatrical training. Two extraordinary performers -popular, comic actors - take on the two losers of Beckett, the clowns of life, circus-like beings who appear out of place and out of history.”
- Savvas Patsalidis, CHARTIS 65

“We are witnessing a performance that juxtaposes today’s reality with that of yesterday, as well as with the distant past - the Greece of the 5th century BC -which the director has extensively studied. He is renowned for his productions of certain Greek tragedies, especially The Bacchae.” - Andrea Bisicchia, Il Giornale Milano

“We tell you clearly: Waiting for Godot is a play with a very strong impact, not easy at all, but absolutely worth seeing. Is this Beckett, you ask? Certainly it is. It is a highly political Beckett, deeply connected to current events (the war in Ukraine?), showing how difficult it is to form relationships - both with others and with oneself. Estragon and Vladimir smile sarcastically with bloodied faces, but in the end (…) they continue to wait for Godot: (…) for the hope that insists on living.” - Francesca De Sanctis, L’Espresso

“…you immediately understand that the Greek director, considered a master of international directing, decided to challenge Beckett. Terzopoulos challenges Beckett and forces him to move. The Irish playwright gave us texts with characters immersed in extreme stillness, which is an allegory of paralysis.” - Mario De Santis, Huffington Post Italy.

A world-renowned director
Theodoros Terzopoulos is an internationally renowned Greek director and the founder of a unique actor training method, taught in the theatre and classics departments of over 30 universities and national drama schools around the world.
Terzopoulos creates a different kind of theatre. He never speaks of roles, characters, or psychological motivations. Instead, he speaks of the actor’s body, of god Dionysus, and of rituals.

His recent “Orestea”, presented by the National Theatre of Greece, was sold out, and this year’s production of “Godot” confirms that Terzopoulos’ work deeply resonates with both the present and international audiences.

Open discussion with University of Cyprus professor Dr. Mary Roussou and assistant director Michalis Traïtsis

On Friday, March 13th at 19:00, a lecture will take place at the Municipal Theater of Nicosia, inspired by Beckett and the play “Waiting for Godot”, given by University of Cyprus professor Dr. Mary Roussou. The assistant director of the production “Waiting for Godot”, Michalis Traïtsis, who was also responsible for the dramaturgical editing of the play, will also be present and speak.

In connection with the performance, and within the framework of the Festival’s collaboration with the University of Cyprus, an open discussion with the audience is being co-organized. Dr. Roussou will speak about Beckett and the Italian element in his work, about Godot and the history of the text, as well as about the performance itself.

The performance and the lecture are sponsored by the Italian Embassy.

Credits

Playwright by Samuel Beckett
Copyright: Editions de Minuit
Italian translation: Carlo Fruttero
Direction, set, lights and costumes: Theodoros Terzopoulos
Dramaturgical advice and assistant director: Michalis Traitsis
Acting training - Terzopoulos Method: Giulio Germano Cervi
Set realized in ERT Scenography Studio
Head of scenography studio and carpenter: Gioacchino Gramolini
Carpenters: Davide Lago, Sergio Puzzo, Veronica Sbrancia, Leandro Spadola
Set decorators: Ludovica Sitti with Sarah Menichini, Benedetta Monetti, Martina Perrone, Bianca Passanti
Design led: Roberto Riccò
Technical director: Massimo Gianaroli
Stage manager: Gianluca Bolla
Stagehand and props: Eugenia Carro
Head electrician: Antonio Rinaldi
Sound technician: Paolo Vicenzi
Costume realization and wardrobe: Carola Tesolin
Production: Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / Teatro Nazionale, Fondazione Teatro di Napoli – Teatro Bellini
In collaboration with Attis Theatre Company
Photos by Johanna Weber
Production: ER T
With (in a.o.): Paolo Musio, Stefano Randisi, Enzo Vetrano, Giulio Germano Cervi, Rocco Ancarola

Duration: 90΄
Age group: Suitable for all ages

The play is performed in Italian, with Greek and English surtitles.

Tickets:
Available online via more.com: http://bit.ly/4grNxB8 and the Nicosia Municipal Theatre box office (Monday - Friday 10:00-13:00).

Ticket prices:

VIP: €30/ €33
ZONE A: €26/ €28
ZONE B: €24/ €26
ZONE C: €22/ €24
ZONE D: €20/€22

Reduced tickets are valid for: Children, students, soldiers, pensioners, large families, unemployed, actors, people with disabilities (free) with presentation of relevant ID.

Information: 22797979 (Monday - Friday 10:00-13:00) & http://bit.ly/3VjZ0ZG

Festival identity
Organisers: Nicosia Municipality, Nicosia For Art
Festival sponsors: OPAP Cyprus, ALTIA, more.com, Italian Embassy, Cyprus Public Transport.
Supporters: Travelhouse, UCLan Cyprus, WINECORE, Gate Twenty Two Boutique Hotel, Classic Hotel Nicosia
Media sponsors: DIAS Publishing & SIGMA TV, DIESI 101.1, and “KATHIMERINI” newspaper

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