Karolos Koun

Who was Karolos Koun?

Karolos Koun was a Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. He had been praised all over Europe for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies of Aristophanes. In 1942, he founded the experimental Art Theater and its drama school.

Koun gave premieres in Athens of works by avant-garde European playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht and Luigi Pirandello. In 1962, Koun's production of The Birds by Aristophanes won first prize at an international festival at Paris.

He worked with famed actress Melina Mercouri. She played Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire which was staged by Koun's Art Theater. Other playwrights that Koun introduced to Greek audiences include Jean Genet, F. G. Lorca and Eugène Ionesco.

Karolos Koun died on February 14, 1987, after suffering a heart attack, aged 79.