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Τheatrical performance “Off Syllabus Reloaded"

Tuesday, 24 February 2026
19:00 - 20:30 GMT+1
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European Parliament
Rue Wiertz 60
1047 BRUSSELS Rue Wiertz 60 1047 BRUSSELS

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Τheatrical performance “Off Syllabus Reloaded

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Theatrical performance "Off Syllabus Reloaded"

📅 Date:
🕐 Time:
19:00 – 20:30 CET
📍 Location:
Room PAUL HENRI SPAAK 7C50, European Parliament, Brussels

About the Event


The award-winning play "Off Syllabus Reloaded" by Kostas Leimonis, following sold-out performances both in Thessaloniki and across Greece, returns this season under the direction of Konstantina Nikolaidi, with Gerasimos Skiadaresis in the role of the Minister.
*The play has been awarded by the Panhellenic Union of Writers.

The Theatrical Play

A Member of Parliament, who has also served as a minister in Greek governments for years, decides to resign from office and retire from political life for good. He prepares to deliver his final speech in Parliament on the night of the vote of confidence in the government. A speech unlike any ever heard in the chamber. After reflecting on his actions — and more importantly, his omissions — both professionally and personally, he confesses and apologizes before the people who once believed in him, hoping that, even at the last moment, he can become an ally of truth and a supporter of a long-overdue apology.

The play encompasses universal values, so it could speak to the minds and hearts of all nations, addressing timeless issues that concern humanity. Such issues are education, racism, inequality between social classes, injustice, the fight against corruption, and the immense power of citizens to overturn the notion that their tolerance of the irrational is a taken for granted.

"The problem begins when the value of the suit exceeds the value of the person wearing it."

Author's Note

Off Syllabus is the product of suffocation, of a need for truth. It has almost no contact with realism, for it speaks about reality, paradoxical as this may sound. Truth is such a simple thing, and at the same time so difficult... The impetus for writing was indignation and the urgent need to finally find a politician who, at some point, will forget the elegant clothes that "wrap" them and will remember the human being hidden inside them. We talk about people every day, and yet we have left humanity forgotten in the corner. I tried to keep the speech politically uncolored, because the MP does not hesitate to address all his colleagues, without exception, as one body, and to remind them, now stripped of underlying expediencies, of their grave missteps.

I am very glad that the Members of the European Parliament will have the opportunity to see the rulers as they should be, or at least as they could become at the very last moment. A "sorry" has been owed for years to a people who are being tested, to a people who succumbed to the bait of easy solutions. Through observations, we also find the answers to what we should or should not do again.

How many times has it happened, in a group of friends, that we spoke honestly and were misunderstood? That we caused offense simply because we dared to say what we felt or what was indeed true? But the majority does not want the truth; it does not need it. And so some "eccentrics" remain, trying to persuade the "non-eccentrics" that 1+1 does not make 3 but 2 — not because that's what we learned in school, but because that's what life itself proves.

Off Syllabus Reloaded includes many of the events and situations that had not yet occurred during its first staging, covering the period 2016–2024. Mati, Tempi, femicides, hate crimes, wiretapping, and a Justice system in suspension are some of the themes with which the once-systemic yet truly repentant minister will wrestle from the parliamentary podium. How can Greece rid itself of another Tempi? How can it rid itself of the toxic masculinity that ends women's lives? How can it rid itself of politicians who feed on populism? How can it rid itself of Brutus figures who throw people into the sea? How can it rid itself of paid and biased journalism? How can it rid itself of artistic directors of dubious intent who deceive us with their deep acting craft? Through education. If we learn in life to question, not to remain complacent with the "syllabus" prepared by others for us — which, on the one hand, can bear its literal meaning (school rote learning) and, on the other, can extend to filtered news, the creation of fear for the resulting absence of reaction, the insecurity that if I don't "stay put," I won't even get what I deserve. In other words, to learn what "off syllabus" truly means..

Director's Note

It all began when I happened to read an excerpt of the play on the internet in 2015. I was thrilled! A politician with a crisis of conscience? A politician who sacrifices money and power on the altar of truth? A politician who overcomes his fears and his ego and humbly asks forgiveness from the people he deceived, but also from himself, whom he had alienated? I had not simply read a political text. Its extensions were not only intensely social, but also deeply personal, because, as Isocrates has said, "The ethos of the entire polity is the same as that of those who govern it."

Thus, I felt then that such a speech must be heard. And since hearing it from a politician belongs to the realm of science fiction, we decided, with Kostas and Gerasimos, to "bring the mountain to Muhammad." And so it happened, and the award-winning play first saw the light of the theatrical stage in 2016 at the Alkmini Theatre. Today, nine years after its first presentation, we are coming back even more dynamically with "Off Syllabus Reloaded" at the European Parliament this time, because unfortunately, it seems that this speech is still needed. The need for reformation — first individual and then collective — is pressing.

Production History

The performance was presented in 2016–2018 (Alkmini Theatre, Ilisia Theatre, national tour across Greece), and on March 27, 2018, for World Theatre Day, it was presented in its natural setting, inside the Hellenic Parliament. In 2019, it was staged in Brussels and Stuttgart. The play, which earned its creator Kostas Leimonis the Theatrical Play Award from the Panhellenic Union of Writers in 2016, returned with updated text on November 8, 2024, at Avlaia Theatre in Thessaloniki with sold-out performances. It was also presented for two months in Athens at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation during its nationwide tour. On October 19, 2025, it was performed with English surtitles at the Xinflix Media Studio in Toronto, Canada, as part of The Greek Experience Cultural Convention 2025. On October 31, 2025, it premiered for the second consecutive and fourth overall year in Greece, once again at Avlaia Theatre in Thessaloniki, opening with another round of sold-out shows.

Production Credits

Text: Kostas Leimonis
Direction / Costumes / Lighting: Konstantina Nikolaidi
Set Design: Maria Filippou
Original Music: Giorgos Perou
Creative Agency: GridFox
Leading Role: Gerasimos Skiadaresis
Also starring: Dimitris Konstantinidis, Eleni Theocharis, Konstantinos Barkos

Hosted by


Elena KOUNTOURA, Member of the European Parliament

Elena KOUNTOURA

MEP MEP   Greece Greece  

Member of the European Parliament

GUE/NGL   SYRIZA Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA)  
Elena KOUNTOURA

Committees

Delegations


Speakers


Gerasimos Skiadaresis

Gerasimos SKIADARESIS

Lead Actor — The Minister

Off Syllabus Reloaded

Gerasimos SKIADARESIS

Gerasimos Skiadaresis portrays the Minister in "Off Syllabus Reloaded," delivering a demanding solo performance at the heart of the production. His portrayal of a politician confronting his conscience, admitting failures and asking for forgiveness, has captivated audiences since the play's first staging in 2016. The production has toured nationally and internationally, including a performance inside the Hellenic Parliament on World Theatre Day 2018, Brussels and Stuttgart (2019), and Toronto (2025).

Kostas Leimonis

Kostas LEIMONIS

Playwright & Author

Off Syllabus Reloaded

Kostas LEIMONIS

Kostas Leimonis is a Greek playwright whose work "Off Syllabus" was awarded the Theatrical Play Award by the Panhellenic Union of Writers in 2016. The play, a monologue exploring political conscience, truth, and the responsibility of those in power, became a landmark theatrical production performed across Greece, in Brussels, Stuttgart, inside the Hellenic Parliament, and Canada. His writing is distinguished by its political depth and universal resonance, calling for education as the antidote to systemic injustice.

Konstantina Nikolaidi

Konstantina NIKOLAIDI

Director / Costumes / Lighting

Off Syllabus Reloaded

Konstantina NIKOLAIDI

Konstantina Nikolaidi is the director of "Off Syllabus Reloaded," responsible also for the costumes and lighting design. She has been attached to this production since its inception in 2016, co-leading it to the Alkmini Theatre stage and through multiple national and international tours. Her directorial vision transforms a political monologue into a deeply personal and universal theatrical experience, from the Hellenic Parliament to the European Parliament stage.

Important – This event is by invitation, and only registered participants will be admitted. Due to capacity constraints, all attendees must register, including those already holding a European Parliament access badge.

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Released on: Belgium (België / Belgique / Belgien)
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