Directing ‘Antigone’ behind Korydallos’ high prison walls

The journey from central Athens to Korydallos is a daily routine for Aikaterini Papageorgiou. As the director and facilitator at the Korydallos Prison Theater Workshop, she and 26 inmates are now preparing Sophocles' "Antigone," following last year's presentation of "The Persians." The performance is scheduled for June 11 and 12 in the prison courtyard.

None of the participants is familiar with theater and may have never attended a performance, Papageorgiou tells Kathimerini. Known for her work over the past two years as the artistic director of Theater Bellos in downtown Plaka, the 27-year-old emphasizes that the "Antigone" production stemmed from a workshop that began last fall with a group of inmates.

"It matters that they engage with complex texts that prompt research and knowledge accumulation. The inmates involved come from different wings, they are not friends,...