Former theater director Andonis Vouyoucas, who led Gyptis in Marseille for 25 years, died on Wednesday, the establishment said in a statement.
The Marseille theater teams pay tribute to “a generous artist”, who devoted “his life to his passion for the theater”. “Andonis Vouyoucas had directed the Gyptis theater (…) contributing to the development of theatrical creation and allowing an important mixing of all audiences, in particular by giving access to culture to the inhabitants of the disadvantaged district of Belle de Mai”, details the press release.
Born in Greece where he studied law and then theatre, Andonis Vouyoucas began his professional life as a screenwriter and film director.
He left the country in 1966 to train actors at the Institute of Theatrical Studies in Paris before forming the Compagnie Permanente d’action culturelle du Sud-Est, in Marseille. His work led him to be chosen to represent France at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, where he presented his creation Requiem.
In 1976, he moved, with the theater company founded with his wife, to Marseille. Together, François Chatôt and Andonis Vouyoucas refurbished the Espace Massalia theater and created about ten shows there, before taking over the management of the Gyptis theater, where they remained for 25 years.
During his career, he has staged dozens of plays including Oedipe Roi and Antigone by Sophocles, Hecuba by Euripides, Partage de midi by Claudel, La Voix Humaine by Cocteau and Uncle Vania and La Mouette by Chekhov. Thirteen years ago, the couple had left the management of the theater to return to live in Greece, the country of origin of the director.