Giorgos Kapoutzidis' uproarious new play, Caryatid!, directed by Katerina Mavrogeorgi, opens at the Rex Theatre's Eleni Papadaki Stage on 7 February. It is a ruthless comedy set in present-day Greece, about this long-suffering country's remarkable tendency to get caught up in situations that quickly spiral out of control.
 
In about half an hour, the long-awaited press conference will finally take place. Trembling journalistic fingers hover over the record button on their cameras. Prepared speeches and heartfelt expressions are rehearsed repeatedly; because even experienced politicians are feeling nervous today. Today we are all brothers; today we are all one.
 
Today, after decades of captivity in the British Museum, the ethereal Caryatid, the long-lost sixth sister, the shimmering symbol of an entire civilisation, is to return to Greece! The whole country is on tenterhooks waiting for her arrival, as if she were a best friend, aunt, or long-lost cousin from abroad. Her reception, however, will not be what we imagined, planned and dreamed of. No. The appearance of the Caryatid in her mother country is a tragicomedy. Hilarious, but merciless.
 
Caryatid! has been commissioned from the author as part of a series of Modern Greek Plays at the National Theatre of Greece this season.