The Promise

Saturday 29 Oct 2022

Smyrna Day

Two seven-year-old best friends, one Greek and the other Turkish, live on the outskirts of Smyrna. In 1922, while war and destruction rage their beloved city will change everything around them, a promise they make to each other will unite them forever.

‘The Promise’ is a powerful and evocative story written and performed by the award-winning international Performance Storyteller, Anna Conomos-Wedlock. Anna’s performance of the story is dynamic, interactive and theatrical, drawing on the meaning of homeland, displacement, memory and friendship and set against the backdrop of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1922.  The performance will be set against a musical backdrop of strings and percussion bringing to life the soundscapes of Asia Minor.

‘The Promise’ is inspired by interviews conducted with Asia Minor refugees and it has been performed internationally at the Benaki Museum and Megaron in Athens, for the Greek Festival and Hellenic Lyceum in Australia and in venues across the UK for audiences young and old. It has been published as a book and made into a film drawing international acclaim.

“Anna Conomos has revived this neglected tradition of storytelling for the grown-up world. The snatches of unaccompanied song in her tale tugs at the heart, and transports us with the narrative into a place of wonder.” –The Telegraph

“I love Anna’s powerful, crisp style of storytelling and especially the way she includes heart-wrenching emotional songs and music. She performed her dramatic, dark Creation Story at Windsor Castle for leaders from nine of the world’s major faiths.” – BBC

The Promise is a story suitable for both adults and children over the age of 7.

Accompanied by legendary rebetiko musician Spiros Bolovinis, Bouzouki, Tzouras, Vocals.

Organised by the Hellenic Centre