Leda Papaconstantinou's Spetses Players: 1970s Greek Island Performance Group Revisited
In the early 1970s, Leda Papaconstantinou returned to Greece amid the military junta, settling on Spetses with her then-husband, British artist David Hughes. Around 1972, she established the Spetses Players, bringing together artists and intellectuals from diverse backgrounds. Their performances, which did not follow fixed scripts, tackled local concerns such as tourism and housing. Among the notable characters was Bouboulitsa, inspired by Laskarina Bouboulina, with productions like Bouboulitsa and the Terrible Dragon (1977) emphasizing water themes. The inaugural Spetses Festival took place in 1977, showcasing works by Timberlake Wertenbaker. In 2013, Papaconstantinou initiated an archive for AGORA, which was later transferred to EMST. By 2026, photographs of these performances sparked renewed interest, leading to reflections on their relevance today.
Key facts
- Leda Papaconstantinou returned to Greece in the early 1970s during the military junta after studying and working in England.
- She settled on Spetses with her then-husband, British artist and teacher David Hughes.
- The Spetses Players formed around 1972, comprising artists, teachers, professors, students, musicians, and people from literature and philosophy.
- The group's only international Spetses Festival took place in 1977, featuring works by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Clement Biddle Wood, and Simon Carr.
- Performances addressed local issues: tourism, housing sold to wealthy foreign buyers, water shortages, waste, and lack of medical care.
- The series concluded with Bouboulitsa’s Dream in 1979.
- In 2013, for AGORA, the 4th Athens Biennale, Papaconstantinou created an archive of memories and material rather than reproducing performances.
- She later transferred her archive to EMST, the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens.
- In 2026, color photographs of the performances circulated on social media, prompting renewed attention.
Entities
Artists
- Leda Papaconstantinou
- David Hughes
- Dario Fo
- Laskarina Bouboulina
- Timberlake Wertenbaker
- Clement Biddle Wood
- Simon Carr
- Aris Konstantinidis
- Carole Roussopoulos
- Dimitris Papadimas
Institutions
- Spetses Players
- Athens Biennale
- AGORA
- EMST, the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens
- Figaro discotheque
- Kapodistrian House of Spetses
- designboom
- SolidNature
Locations
- Spetses
- Greece
- Athens
- England
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Germany
- France
- Sweden
- Italy
- Denmark