I met Yannis Stamatiou through my new friend and composer Kostas Moustakas. From their ready company I realized how blessed I was to meet so many remarkable people.

Yiannis, an open heart, immediately shared with me his desire to record Sophocles' Antigone, which he had previously staged in ancient Greek. I put forward the silent mechanism that preparation has for creative production.

A course followed with other performances and my acquaintance with the EKSTAN theater.

Many are collected when one tries to enumerate and remember them. Yiannis showed in practice that life is here and he faced it with laughter, as the title of one of his last shows said.

We spent the night drinking beers with the company, we met in my workshop in front of the Antigone material, we traveled and recorded the space.

Finally we were honored in September 2022 to realize his dream in the ancient theater of Messina.

When he passed away in January 2023, Eleni Papachristopoulos's wife introduced me to his world, where we prepared this tribute for the deceased on the occasion of the spiritual memorial service organized in February.

He paraded his whole life before me in pictures.

The theater was suffocatingly filled with people and it was hard to keep dry eyes.

Born in Kalavryta on July 17, 1960.

In 1978 at the drama school of the National Theater..

 In the studio apartment on Gavriilidou Street.

 Since 1980 in life and theater with Eleni Papachristopoulou, the philologist and later theatreologist and actor.

1981
Final examinations. "The Parade" by Loula Anagnostaki with Katerina Didaskalou. Request from the National for Schiller's "Robbers".

 1982
He decentralizes by forming the theater group"DIKAIOPOLIS"together with  Kostas Filipoglou, Milto Mareta, Giorgos Angelopoulos, Stelios Sismanidis, Eleni Papachristopoulou.

 At the age of 22  he made  his first professional directorial debut with "I don't pay, I don't pay" by Dario Fo.  They are as follows:

• "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist",,
• "Smile Please" by Carl Valentine,
• "The Carabinieri" by Benjamin Zoppolo.

He seeks theatrical renewal close to a popular audience by performing in squares, schools, cafes of the Greek countryside.

Theater group of Polygyros.Directing 12 years, 77 actors, 90 theater performances, 15,000 tickets and the reason for the creation of 5 amateur troupes.

1982-1986  touring

From 1992  through training seminars, he first connected and then collaborated with two key figures of Peter Brook's, τον Jean-Paul Denison and Sotigui Couillat..

 1996
Return from Paris and wedding of Yiannis Stamatiou and Eleni Papachristopoulou.

 2020
"Passing by" in the work written for the two artists by Jean-Paul Denison and related to their lives

1996
He founded together with other actors, Lamprini Liva, Anna Delaporta, Takis Manolopoulos, Alexandros Pontikakis, the Artistic Association PEDION The actor Petros Apostolopoulos is with them.  

«"Hamlet with Spicy Sauce"by Aldo Nicolai, directed by Jean-Paul Denison.

 1997
He plays and directs Lillian Wooters' "Hall of Teachers" by Lillian Wooters at the Brittany Theatre.

1998 – 99
Yiannis plays and directs at the Bretania theater the children's play by Pierre Gryparis,"Inspector Tutu».

2000
«"Sganarelos, or the fanciful cuckold" and "With the Forced marriageby Moliere.

2000- 2002
Collaboration with DIPETHE KOMOTINIS "Risosby Euripides,  directed by Stavros Tsakiris.

2004-2006
Peter Brook's Theater Boeuf de Norre in Paris and on international tour (Therapist in Sophocles' Oedipus, Directed by Sotigi Koujate. Second Prize for Best Actor from the University Theater Studies Association of Paris.

2000-2010
He collaborates with Lambros Tsaga and the KNOSSOS Theatre.

• "Suit"
• "Generation gap" a compilation of top works of the international repertoire, curated by Kostas Georgousopoulos
• "Helen" by Euripides,
• "Cavafis" by Grigoris Haliakopoulos,
• "Peace" by Aristophanes

2010
"Settled" in the Multipurpose space -  EKSTAN that they created with Eleni Papakhristopoulou. His girlfriend Betty Lyritis is a permanent set designer

2010 – 2011
"The yard of my secrets" by Brigitte Dery with Lambrini Liva

"Into the Night and Fog"a subversive comedy by Carl Valentine

 2011-2013
What am I doing here?by E. Burken

 2015 – 2016
"I remember..." by Eleni Papachristopoulou

 2016
«"Under the Milk Forest"by Dylan Thomas Retirement Bank theater group

«"Chairs" by Ionesco. International Theatrical Repertory Award 2018.

2017
"Ghosts", musical by Alexandros Pentaras and Natalia Ilias

 2018 
"Until a day ago" by Christos Thessalonikeas. The life of a diva with Haris Symeonidou

2019 & 2022-23
"El Che" by Vassilis Kyriakos

 2019
«Telesillatragedy by Grigoris Haliakopoulos, Ancient Theater of Messina

 2021
"Jeanne d'Arc", musical by Alexandros Pentaras and Natalia Ilias.

"Stock Exchange" by Bukai. Theatrical group of Bank of Greece Pensioners

"Waiting for Quintessence" by Coward

2022
«I hold you in my palm like a flower", by Eleni Papakhristopoulou which she composed from the poetic work of Konstantinos Bouras.

«Antigone" by Sophocles in ancient Greek at the Ancient Theater of Messina with him in the role of Creon.