Bavarokratie Βαυαροκρατία

In the organizer's words:

"It is strange what a talent the German governments have for bringing the ridiculous into the most terrible stories." Ludwig Börne

Detailed account of the accession to the throne and reign of the first King of Greece, Otto, the unfortunate, uprooted, non-Bavarian, non-Greek, non-linguist, grasshopper, protector, pain in the neck, together with a detailed description of his long life and suffering, adapted from the best sources and accompanied by a suitable song.

Ἀναλυτικὴ ἀναφορὰ περὶ τῆς ἀναρρήσεως καὶ διακυβερνήσεως τοῦ πρώτου βασιλέα τῆς Ἑλλάδος: Ὄθων, ὁ κακότυχος, ξεριζωμένος, ὁ μή-Βαυαρός, μή-Ἕλληνας, μή-γλωσσος, ἀκρίδα, χωροφύλακας, σπαστικός, καθὼς καὶ ἀναλυτικὴ περιγραφὴ μακροῦ αὐτοῦ βίου καὶ παθῶν, διασκευασμένη κατὰ τὶς κάλλιστες πηγὲς καὶ χορηγημένη ταιριαστοῦ ἄσματος.

Otto von Wittelsbach was the first and last Bavarian on the Greek throne. He was installed in 1832, after the Greeks had won their independence from the Ottoman Empire. Otto loved ancient Greece - but he had no idea about the new multi-ethnic state structure in south-eastern Europe. He had Athens built in the neoclassical style, but did not meet with approval and remained a paper king for the rest of his life.

In Germany, Otto is therefore regarded as a misunderstood benefactor; in Greece, many see his bavarocracy as a continuation of despicable foreign rule.

Who do you have to thank for your crown, Otto! You didn't fight for it yourself! You are a child, Otto, a pretzel on two legs.

Bavarokratie, the final production by Paula Schlagbauer, lifts Otto and his wife Amalie out of their history, their coffins in Munich's Theatinerkirche. A team of Greek and German artists question what this is supposed to be: a king, a nation state, a European spirit.