PHOTO ESSAY: Greek theater production seeks to show that art has no age

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A recent Greek National Opera production afforded a group of seniors the chance to channel their young-at-heart energy into onstage performances, proving that no one's too old to learn something new.

It started with a class in 2018 that taught a simpler method for playing the guitar. The initiative took hold, eventually attracting more than 100 senior citizens who learned to play and sing during weekly sessions on the opera’s alternative stage.

End-of-season recitals evolved into the Oct. 23 sold-out production involving music, dance and stories from the 1980s — a decade of soaring hopes and deep disappointments that profoundly shaped modern Greece.

The roughly 70 performers' experiences formed the foundation of the show, titled “My Incurable Love: A Date with History,” and turned the stage into a space for collective memory and expression. It challenged the premise that retirement means surrendering to a sedentary lifestyle and extinguishing one’s creative spirit.

“We have a preconceived notion that, as you age, you stop learning and you no longer want to learn. That’s not the case,” Kiki Kerzeli, the show's conductor, told The Associated Press. “What we’ve seen is that these people don’t just crave entertainment — they have a thirst for learning, too.”

Among them was Sandra Paleologou, who at the age of 82 was one of the production's oldest participants. Her many years as a senior executive at a multinational pharmaceutical company prevented her from pursuing her passions: music, dancing, reading and painting. But retirement provided her with a new way of life.

“I started living with a capital L after my pension, because that’s when I stopped doing what I have to do and started doing what I’d like to do. And that was a rebirth for me, a renaissance,” she said, adding, “Art has absolutely no age.”

“I could wake up feeling 20, and then I could have a hard day, and by noon, oh, I feel over 100. And then I get some refreshing thoughts or news or whatever, or whatever I do. I may paint and I love my painting, and I go back to 40. In one day, I have so many ages,” she said.

At the packed Olympia Municipal Music Theatre “Maria Callas” in central Athens, relatives, friends and many others took in two 90-minute performances free of charge. The productions were the result of months of dedication, preparation and hard work.

At one rehearsal, on the eve of the big night, the director made corrections to some people’s positions, asking them to take note of their marks were on stage. The choreographer weaved through rows of dancers, helping some with their steps.

For the main event, Paleologou donned a black-strapped, blue-sequined dress and stood to tell her story: She had wanted to celebrate her birthday out on the town with her husband by dancing — while eight months pregnant. A nightclub employee asked her to leave the dance floor; they were in no mood to deliver her baby on the dance floor. Paleologou turned away from the mic amid laughter and applause before dancing back to her seat.

Another participant, Themis Kotsifakis, is a 68-year-old retired teacher and active trade unionist, who continues to advocate for the rights of pensioners. He delivered a monologue on stage about participating in union demos, and asked fellow cast members why they remembered the 1980s. “Because I gave birth to my children,” said one woman. “Because we watched ‘Dynasty,'” said another.

“We’re still here. We’re still alive and active,” Kotsifakis told the AP.

For audience members in the theater's seats on Oct. 23, that message came through from performers loud and clear.

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.