Nowadays, the Karagiozis Greek Shadow Theatre is coming back. It is coming back with another prestige and is addressed to a different audience. Once, before the cinema, it used to be a big popular show, later, for many years, it became a special companion for the children.
Although the cinema, the television and the video have dominated in the world of spectacle, our Karagiozis is coming back to entertain the educated people, the intellectuals, the specialists and, naturally, the children and the ingenuous.
Nowadays, Karagiozis became an object of study in the Universities and a subject of research for the scholars. Many of them are still trying to discover its sources, its origins in the sacredmysteries of Eleusis, of Egypt and of Persia.
The theatrical experts are working on its characters, the dramatists are analysing the structure of the plays, the subjects of the performances and the variations. Nowadays, the Karagiozis shadow theatre has the prestige of a popular spectacle which has very deep roots of origin and requires a special tradition of virtuosity.
Spatharis is a precious ring in this “continuous chain of tradition”. He carries over the wisdom of centuries. This wisdom is honoured today in his person and in the person of younger shadow players.