Priestesses of disgrace, you bring joy into my life

Priestesses of disgrace, you bring joy into my life is a loose script in development between Athens and Amsterdam. It is based on what Adriana Cavarero calls “the truth of the vocal”. In the piece, informal conversations, marked by the dramaturgy of everyday life in the rich urban fabric of Athens are turned into composition material for a chant that resonates with the city’s secrets and rumours.

Performed by Mercedes Azpilicueta, together with Angeliki Tzortzakaki and Maria Sideri, the three voices speaking mainly in Greek and English enact the city’s best hidden knowledge: that of elderly women. The overheard and informal speech of these women is enriched with creative writing related to feminist theories on reproductive labour, (domestic) resistance and women’s friendship and solidarity. The reading is accompanied by a live sound mix by Maria Sideri derived from street recordings in Athens.

The script will continue to evolve until it becomes a chant performed as part of The City Talks Back Assembly 02 in Athens, June 2021.