Mitsos Lygizos

Mitsos Lygizos September 1 1912 September 18 1993 was a Greek writer of literary and theatrical works poet director actor and director of Drama Schools He initially studied at the Drama School of the National Theatre where he became an assistant to Dimitris Rontiris and continued his studies at the Central School of Dramatic Arts in London He made his acting debut in 1940 participating in Sophocles Antigone which was presented by the National Theatre starring Eleni Papadaki In 1948 he left Greece to study directing in Paris London and New York In 1954 when he returned to Greece he created the Circular Theatre on Parnassos directing many performances with wellknown protagonists such as Kyveli Katerina Anna Synodinou etc In 1956 he innovated with the Theatre in the Green by staging Romeo and Juliet in the Royal Garden where instead of sets the natural landscape dominated In the following years he collaborated with the troupes of Katrakis Elsa Vergi Vougiouklaki Tzenis Karezi Dimitris Papamichael Despo Diamantidou Nikos Hadziskos etc staging works from classical repertoire to reviews He wrote the screenplay for the film The Crossroads of Destiny directed by Gianni Vernoutsio For a number of years he served as General Director of the Drama Schools of the National Theatre and the Athens Conservatory where he also taught Many wellknown contemporary theatre and television stars were his students