Lela and Lela
A comedy—a power struggle between two women
“A game played between facing mirrors”
“Wonderfully recognizable motifs from the author,
written in a very personal and dynamic style”
The “Spiti Tis” Theater Company presents Andreas Staikos’ play “Lela and Lela,” which has captivated audiences and critics alike – an existential comedy exploring the power dynamics between two women. Starring Eleni Zarafidou and Emmanouela Kontogiorgou.
One of the country’s most distinguished playwrights, a great translator and prose writer, Andreas Staikos writes and directs the play “Lela and Lela,” following his own unique theatrical style. As a result of the dynamic rehearsal process, both the text and the direction create their own theatrical universe, in which the direction gives rise to the writing and the writing to the direction.
A strange job posting from an eccentric woman and an eventful interview lead to the hiring of a seemingly innocent young woman to take on the role of… Lela. Amid relationships that border on dependence and alienation, the roles are reversed and the lie emerges as the only truth.
“Lela and Lela” then enter the endless game of life and
existence.
Note from the writer-director
“Two women, two different worlds. Opposing starting points in an endless quest for identity and style. Fate brings them face to face in an equally endless, painful yet entertaining power game that touches on dependence, the rejection of identities, and alienation, until the rules of the game are reversed.
In their small room, they have made room for nature, time, the entire universe. Their small room is their stage, the stage of amusement, decay, contrast, and complete identification.
They fill the brief and incomprehensible void of their lives with play,
play until death.”
Andreas Staikos
The production premiered in May 2025 at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation and in September of the same year at the National Theater of Northern Greece, receiving exceptional reviews.
Due to consecutive sold-out performances, a second run of performances took place at the Fournos Theater from November 2025 through February 2026.
Finally, the production toured to the Municipal Regional Theater of Corfu in March 2026 and to the Sifty Georgia Festival, under the auspices of the National Theater of Georgia (Rustaveli Theater), the Sifty Festival, and with the support of the Ministry of Culture.
Contributors
Directed by: Andreas Staikos
Music: Nikos Xydakis
Costumes: Dimitris Dasios
Lighting: Haris Dallas
Assistant Director: Matina Mavrommati
Production: SPITI TIS Theater Company
Cast:
Eleni Zarafidou, Emmanouela Kontogiorgou, Matina Mavrommati
“Lela and Lela” was published in October 2025 by
Sokoli Publishing.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS
A game between facing mirrors
Andreas Staikos’s works are rather reminiscent of Fasianos’s paintings displayed in public spaces, with his little figures smoking voraciously while looking at us innocently, next to signs on the wall that read “No Smoking” ! […] In this work, which is a “summary” of all his writings, Andreas Staikos’s direction-writing and writing-direction, without forgetting that the play is a comedy with a serious side, avoids both sterile solemnity and the excess of humor […] The actors create two equally compelling female incarnations of fate, with flawless, syncopated rhythms and a style vibrating with bewildered wonder: two twin sphinxes in the game of truth and lies…
“Avgi” newspaper, Leandros Polenakis, June 11, 2025
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Wonderfully recognizable motifs from the author, with a very personal and dynamic style […] Andreas Staikos successfully directs his own play and writes the stage text precisely in line with his own thoughts and obsessions […] The two actors have amazing
movement, perfectly coordinated, often dance-like, definitely erotic
like a dance for two.
Catisart, Maria Mari, June 6, 2025
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS
Δύο Λέλες, ένας καθρέφτης: Μια τελετουργία εσωτερικής αφύπνισης
Andreas Staikos employs language that is both precise and poetic, with strong undertones, subtle humor, and silences that leave room for the viewer to recognize their own shadows.
[…] The two leading actresses manage to convey an impressive emotional range, from awkwardness to intimacy, proving that two main characters on stage are enough to convey a universe of emotions to the audience.
Booksitting, Alexia Kalogeropoulou, December 5, 2025
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A requiem for the end of melancholy
What makes Andreas Staikos’s writing timeless is none other than his dismantling of the self-referential nature of the female presence as a means of further exploration, skillfully casting aside the Otherness in gender issues imposed by the phenomenon of Patriarchy. He does not love women superficially; he does not approach them in the realm of fleeting desire: rather, he respects and accepts them with all their virtues and flaws as personalities in constant and unceasing evolution.
Fractal, Eleni Anagnostopoulou, November 11, 2025
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS
A performance that challenges everyday conventions
Andreas Staikos constantly employs the symbol of the femme fatale in his work. The figure of the femme fatale “is a figment of the author’s imagination,” embodying something transcendent.
Eleni Zarafidou and Emmanouela Kontogiorgou, in their third collaboration with Andreas Staikos—following the productions “Hermione” and “Alifeira”—are in perfect harmony with one another, as well as with the composer’s elegant and exuberant style.
Bookpress, Solon Papageorgiou, January 24, 2026
