Rondiris, Dimitrios

Born 1899 in Poros. Greek actor and stage director.

Rondiris studied at the University of Athens. In 1919 he made his stage debut, and from 1923 to 1927 he acted in M. Kotopouli’s theater. From 1929 to 1933 he attended M. Reinhardt’s seminar on acting and directing. In 1928, Rondiris staged Kalomiris’ opera The Mother’s Ring. Between 1934 and 1955, with interruptions, he was principal director of the Greek National Theater in Athens, where he staged the plays of Shakespeare, Molière, Goldoni, Schiller, and modern Greek playwrights.

Rondiris was a pioneer in the modern staging of ancient Greek tragedies. He sought to overcome the static nature of the chorus and introduced elements of contemporary Greek folklore. In 1957 he founded the Piraikon Theater, where he staged Sophocles’ Electra, Euripides’ Medea, and Aeschylus’ The Libation-bearers and Eumenides. In 1962 and 1963, Rondiris toured the US with his theater.