Young Europe IV: Introducing European Playwrights & Mentors
A two-part cross-interview series with authors and mentors participating in the Young Europe IV project.
Jaka Smerkolj Simoneti (Slovenia) & Tereza Trusinová (Czech Republic/Slovakia) - 2022
Alex Weenink & Kurt Gabriel Meli (Malta) - 2022
Matin Soofipour Omam (Iran/Germany) - 2022
With Dino Pesut (Croatia) and Dounia Mahammed (Belgium) - 2022
With Emel Aydoğdu (Germany/Turkey) and Olya Voronkova (Belarus/UK) - 2023
With Mohammad Al Attar (Syria/Germany) & Patty Kim Hamilton (Germany/US) - 2023
With Zoe Apostolidou (Cyprus/UK) - 2023
Written Interviews
Read written versions of the video interviews with the Young Europe IV playwrights and mentors in the ETC Journal 2022/2023.
Young Europe IV: Non Dominant Voices in European Youth Theatre. Interview with Zoe Apostolidou and Emel Aydogdu
Young Europe IV is a project to produce new plays about inclusive topics in different parts of Europe. What topic have you chosen to focus on – and why is this particularly relevant in your local context?
Zoe Apostolidou: In my work, I have chosen to talk about fatphobia. More specifically, I focus on the stigma, discrimination, and bullying that individuals experience on the basis of their body size. In this play, three individuals unfold their stories and talk about how fatphobia has impacted their lives and shaped their sense of self and the way they relate to others. Stigmatizing bodies because of their size is a phenomenon that is not only relevant in Cyprus but concerns the way Western culture generates and perpetuates size prejudice and discrimination. It is therefore a topic that needs to be addressed and its harmful repercussions on people’s lives should be discussed.
Emel Aydoğdu: I am currently interested in topics such as classicism, racism, our environment, and nature. I am concerned with questions such as: How can a person who belongs to a minority in a society survive/live? How can the environment and nature be valued and respected more?