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Babades with Chantilly was staged at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, on Saturday. It is a satirical comedy that depicts how a family becomes a bunch of murderers because of greed. Image Credit: Clint Egbert/Gulf News

Dubai: The more than 5,000 hours of volunteer work have paid off for 31 Greek expatriates in Dubai as they can now send money to help homeless people affected by the recession back home.

Six Greek amateur actors from Dubai supported by 25 production staff from the Thespis Greek Theatre Group did what they know best on Saturday night — staged the first all-Greek production and humanitarian event at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates. The group, named after Thespis, the first actor in the world, is composed of volunteer actors based in the UAE.

Some 500 Greeks from across the UAE came to watch the play in what is believed to be the largest gathering of Greek expatriates under one roof in the UAE.

The group performed Babades with Chantilly by acclaimed Greek screenwriters M. Reppas and Th. Papathanassiou. It is a satirical comedy that depicts how a family becomes a family of murderers because of greed.

“We chose this play as it’s a good way to talk about [materialism] in the ’80s and how it resembles what is happening in societies at present,” said Maria Karra, founder of Emfasis Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by Greeks living overseas, and co-organiser of the event.

Karra said the two 90-minute plays saw full houses on Saturday, bringing proceeds to Dh75,000, plus around Dh25,000 worth of donations from audience members. Karra said the full amount will go a long way in helping homeless people in Greece.

“I just want everyone to regain that dignity for our country, for what we are capable of, because the past five or six years of recession has traumatised us and hurt our pride and dignity. The greatest gift I got from organising this event is hearing my fellowmen say they’re proud of our country,” Karra said.

Constance Kratsa, director of the play, said the group spent all weekends from January to June rehearsing and preparing for the show.

“We [Greeks] created theatre so it’s part of our heritage; it’s part of who we are. We wanted to use it as our main tool to be able to give back to our country, to help our fellowmen,” Kratsa told Gulf News. “We can’t just sit here and not do anything.”

Dionyssios Zois, Greek Ambassador to the UAE, said he was amazed at how the actors displayed professionalism despite being amateur actors. He congratulated them for devoting their personal time to come up with the play.

Kostas Maroulis, a Greek engineer based in Abu Dhabi, lauded the organisers of the show, saying it provided them with alternatives to help their countrymen and remember their roots.

“We need to be there for them. We need to have more opportunities to be able to help the homeless, provide them with food, and job opportunities,” Maroulis told Gulf News.

For Evangelos Kalamatianos, a senior project manager, the play is just a start. He said he hopes more Greek community events are organised in the future.