The aim of the workshop is to introduce participants to the theory and language of performing arts criticism, while cultivating the art of the spectator and reflection on artistic creation. Participants are invited to articulate critical thinking about the Festival’s performances through lessons and practical exercises in daily sessions, and by taking part in public discussions.

The workshop is taught by Dio Kangelari, Assistant Professor at the School of Drama of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and founding member of the Hellenic Association of Theatre and Performing Arts Critics, and Zoi Ververopoulou, theatre critic and Assistant Professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, specialising in the theory and criticism of the verbal and performing arts. Distinguished theatre practitioners, theorists, critics and arts journalists have also been invited to contribute to the learning process.

At the same time, the workshop is the subject of the multimedia installation-exhibition “Critique Workshop”, curated by visual artist Evanthia Tsantila. In video-recorded accounts, the workshop students, as well as residents of the area taking part in the Synikismos Festival, express their feelings and thoughts about the performances through various activities. At the end of this meeting, the theatre criticism produced will be exhibited as a leporello and a series of photographic reproductions, together with the video screening.