MARIO BANUSHI
“A RISING STAR WHO REPRESENTS THE NEW FACE OF GREEK THEATRE”
TheCoronetTheatreisthehomeofexceptionalinternationalartsinare-imagined andrestoredGradeIIlistedtheatreinLondon’sNottingHill.Bothitsprogrammeand thebuilding’srestorationarecuratedbyArtisticDirector&CEOAndaWintersin collaborationwithartistsfromacrosstheglobe.
TCT’smissionistoengage,educate,andempowerourdiverseaudienceswithnew perspectivesonglobalarts.Weplatformbothemergingandrenownedartistsfromall overtheworld,creatingavibrantspacewhereculturescollideandideascomealive.
TAVERNA MIRESIA
MARIO, BELLA, ANASTASIA
BY MARIO BANUSHI
Never before seen in the UK, Albanian actor/director Banushi was hailed as an extraordinary new talent by international critics at The National Theatre of Greece.
Rooted in personal experience, Taverna Miresia is a beautiful and profoundly touching exploration of loss, family and immigrant identity, as Banushi watches his sisters and stepmother mourn his father’s death The only man left in the family, Banushi found himself surrounded by the women ’ s grief, and it is this experience that he brings so movingly to the stage.
A neon restaurant sign reading Taverna Miresia (“Restaurant of Kindness”), in the Albanian capital Tirana, sheds light on the history of a family. At its heart was the father, cook and owner, who used to welcome customers every night. Years later Banushi, who now lives in Greece, took that sign from Tirana to Athens, placing it at the centre of the semi-autobiographical world he creates.
“Mario
Banushi is one of the most important new voices in European theatre”
TheaterSpektakel
“...this presentation of the rituals of grief offers audience’s something primal, but for me the appeal lies in the atmospheric world-building, the intoxicating sense of the strange, the dash of old magic.”
Natasha Tripney
MARIO BANUSHI
“
a rising star who represents the new face of Greek theatre”
Mario Banushi was born in 1998 and lived in Albania until the age of six, before moving permanently to Greece. He studied acting at the Drama School of the Athens Conservatory, from which he graduated in 2020. The same year, he made his first short film Pranvera, with which he participated in the 2021 Tirana International Film Festival
His first work as a stage director was the performance Ragada, which was created and presented in a house in Athens, during the pandemic lockdowns
His next work, Goodbye, Lindita, premiered in 2023 at the experimental stage of the National Theatre of Greece, and quickly accumulated an enthusiastic audience and rave reviews, resulting in consistent sold out shows and international invitations from esteemed festivals and theatres, such as the International Theatre in Amsterdam, the Adelaide Festival in Australia and Bitef in Belgrade in which Mario received the Bitef Special Award “Jovan Ćirilov” and the Politika Award for Best Director
His third work, Taverna Miresia – Mario Bella Anastasia, was presented in July 2023 at the Athens Epidaurus Festival for three sold-out performances and has been touring internationally since the beginning of 2024. Mario Banushi’s trilogy is usually referenced by the title Romance Familiare, which means family romance in Albanian.
Mario Banushi is an Onassis AiR Fellow and a resident artist of the Centre Culturel Hellénique in Paris.
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Conceived and Directed by
Set & Costume Design by
Original music by Sound Design by Light Design by
In collaboration with Cast
Mario Banushi
Sotiris Melanos
Jeph Vanger
Kostas Michopoulos
Eliza Alexandropoulou
Savina Yannatou, Chryssi Vidalaki, Katerina Kristo, Mario Banushi, Eftychia
Stefanou
Theatro sti Sala
With the Support of Athens Epidaurus Festival
Photos: Britt Ryckebosch
Photos: Britt Ryckebosch
BECOME A FRIEND
TheCoronetTheatre’sMembershipschemeisyourpassporttoourextraordinaryartistic mission.Asamember,you’llunlockexclusivebenefits,fromprioritybookingtodiscounts atouriconicbar,invitationstoexclusiveevents,merchandise,andaccesstothelatest newsaboutourcutting-edgeproductionsandevents.
Forjust£10amonthyoucanenjoytheseamazingbenefits:
PriorityBooking-Bookaheadofthegeneralpublicandsecuregreatseats
10%BarDiscount-Geta10%discountonalldrinksinouratmosphericcandlelitstalls bar
SeasonLaunchEvents-Receiveaninvitationtoatleastoneexclusiveseasonlaunch eventayear
ToteBag-ReceiveafreeCoronetTheatreToteBagworth£15 Supporters'Newsletter-Bethefirsttohearnewsaboutournewproductions,meet theteamandgetabehindthescenesinsightintohowourshowsarebroughttolife withanexclusivequarterlynewsletter
Bybecomingamember,you’renotjustgainingaccesstoworld-classinternationalarts–you ’realsojoiningacommunitythatvaluesthetransformativepowerofculture.
LEENALCHI
2 0 2 5 E U R O P E A N T O U R Fri 04 & Sat 05
THE CORONET THEATRE TEAM
ArtisticDirector&CEO
AndaWinters
GeneralManager
AndyMcDonald
FinanceManager
AndrewMichel
Company&ProductionCoordinator
EmmaSmith
Producer
DaphneSeale
AssociateProducer
CathyLewis
ConsultantProducer
HettyShand
MarketingManager(Freelance)
ElliotHall
PRConsultant
SharonKean
PoetryCoordinator
MarionManning
AudienceExperienceManager
GiudiDiGesaro
TheatreAdministrator/PAtothe
ArtisticDirector
EmmaZetterberg
Producing&MarketingAssistant
EsmeBishop
DutyManagers
FrancescaBattinieri,MariaLisbergJonasson,JoannaPapanastassiou, AylinRodoplu
BoxOfficeAssistant
IvanaDieli
FrontofHouseStaff
BrianMaitland,AndreaneRellou, EwaEmini,SuaTsubokuraAguiriano,HazelTownsend,Kelsey Moebius,TheaGavanski,Aishani Ghosh,EugénieBakker,EmmaLairdCraig,ScarlettStitt,DanielTimoney, DominikaJarečná,HamzaMullick, StefanieBruckner,JulietDempsey, KatrinaFoster,Stephanie
Christodoulidou,AnnabelleGardner, AidanBose-Rosling,LiIkoku-Smith, MerileeEttia
Trustees
LindaBernhardt,MikeFisher,Mimi Gilligan,JaneQuinn,AndaWinters, BillWinters(Chair)
