Mami at the Odéon - Théâtre de l'Europe: the multiple figures of the mother

Between the Albania of his youth and the Greece of his adolescence, Mario Banushi's Mami is both autobiographical and sensory, presented from April 9 to 16, 2026 at l'Odéon - Théâtre de l'Europe, in its Ateliers Berthier branch in Paris. Lasting 1h10, this creation features Vasiliki Driva, Dimitris Lagos, Eftychia Stefanou, Angeliki Stellatou, Fotis Stratigos and Panagiota Yiagli, in a scenic form that blends visual language and bodily presence.

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Mami revolves around a simple, universal word - "mother" - in this case "mami" in Albanian. This word becomes the anchor of a fragmented narrative, nourished by the author's personal experience. The show depicts the constellation of women who marked the director's childhood: the grandmother, the tutelary figure of the early years; the biological mother, found in Athens; the stepmother, Lindita; and all the women encountered along the path of growth, invested with a maternal role. Through visual tableaux and attention to gestures and postures, Mami conveys the tensions, impulses and silences of filial love.

This show is aimed at audiences interested in non-linear narrative forms, physical theater and intimate narratives carried by a non-verbal stage language. Audiences accustomed to classical dramatic writing or explicit dramaturgies may find themselves disconcerted by the show's sensual, symbolic approach. Mami's artistic approach is close to that of certain directors who work at the frontier between biography, collective memory and visual performance.

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By questioning the meaning of the word "mother" for a child who has grown up in two countries and in several emotional homes, Mami offers a stage creation that is both personal and universal, combining intimacy and symbolic distance.

This article is based on information available to date and is not based on a viewing of the show.

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