Karolos Koun (Greek:Κάρολος Κουν; September 13, 1908 – February 14, 1987) was a prominentGreektheater director, widely known for his lively staging ofancient Greek plays.
Koun was born inBursa,Ottoman Empire to aGreek mother and aPolish Jewish father. He was educated inOttoman Turkey until the end of high school. He graduated fromRobert College inIstanbul and then went toSorbonne for his university education. As his family's economic situation worsened, he couldn't continue his education.
He had been praised all overEurope for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies ofAristophanes. In 1942, he founded the experimentalArt Theater and its drama school.[1]
Koun gave premieres inAthens of works byavant-garde European playwrights such asBertolt Brecht andLuigi Pirandello. In 1962, Koun's production ofThe Birds byAristophanes won first prize at an international festival atParis. He also directed many plays by Aristophanes likeThe Frogs,Peace (play),Thesmophoriazusae,Lysistrata, andThe Acharnians.
He worked with famed actressMelina Mercouri. She played Blanche Dubois inA Streetcar Named Desire which was staged by Koun's Art Theater.[2] Other playwrights that Koun introduced to Greek audiences includeJean Genet,Federico García Lorca andEugène Ionesco. He also directed modern and classic plays likeA Midsummer Night's Dream,The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Murder of Marat, and Greek plays like The Karaghiozis almost Vizier by George Skourtis and The Babylon by Dimitris Byzantios.
Koun collaborated with famous Greeks like Manos Xatzidakis, George Bakalo, Odysseas Elytis, Giannis Tsarouxis, Rallou Manoy, Basilis Rotas, Zouzou Nikoloudi, Maria Kynigou Mikis Theodorakis. Technis Theatre managed to be one of the more successful theatres in Greece and the world.The Birds travelled all over the world like other theatre performances like Lysistrata, which was presented to London withOedipus Rex. Koun had many students who continued the theatre after Koun's death.
He stayed politically active all his life which had a direct impact on his not having financial security in his life. His theater was responsible for training the golden generation of Greek movie actors.
Karolos Koun died on February 14, 1987 in Athens, after suffering a heart attack, aged 78.[3]
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