No man is an island entire of itself, the new work by Argyro Chioti and VASISTAS theatre group, a performance-invitation to a mental wandering, will be presented at the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST) from July 1st to July 5th.

In a series of absurd, dream-like rooms, ten spectators each time encounter their residents who converse, as museum exhibits, with their confined selves. Guided by a woman’s voice through their headphones, the visitors enter deeper and deeper in their mental wandering at Temporary Exhibitions Space -1 of the museum. Through the poetic encounters with these five people, they are invited to join in a personal, transcendental and meditative experience.

With light creating the setting and architecture, with intense audiovisual stimulation, with highly poetic text, a composition of literature excerpts and material devised during the rehearsals, the spectators observe the reality getting distorted and their perception gradually broadening. Each one will experience a lone journey towards a personal utopia.

The first version of the performance was presented online and live streaming at the museum’s website on 22, 23, 24 May, in the framework of the International Museum Day 2020. An unusual and uncharted theatrical experience that drew on material from the digital world, which imposes its own distinct logic and an uncanny scenic experience.

The second version, as a live-art performance with the actors on site, is presented in its natural space, in the museum’s building, as one of the first events after its reopening.

VASISTAS theatre group and the performance intervention No man is an island entire of itself are supported by NEON Organization. 

The title of the performance comes from the poem Meditation XVII (1624), by John Donne.