Cretan writer and philosopher Nikos Kazantzakis is perhaps most well-known for his two novels Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ and epic poem The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel. However, Kazantzakis also led a life of adventure, passion and exploration and in Howard F. Dossor's NK: A Kazantzakian Montage, important and life changing moments from his personal story are presented and examined.
The story is told with the aid of a Greek Chorus that gives life to Kazantzakis' stories and allows the nine performers (Elyssia Koulouris, Erin Marshall, Kostas Illias, Nicole Coombs,
Paul Pellegrino, Sebastian Gunner, Tabitha Veness, Tania Knight and Will
Atkinson) to easily switch in and out of the Chorus to become a person from Kazantzakis' life. Alex Tsitsopoulos as Kazantzakis displays a sound understanding of who this writer was and delivers a thoughtful performance. However, the production falls into the trap of having Kazantzakis explaining how certain experiences made him feel and what they meant to him, rather than showing us why these moments were important. This resulted in long monologues with less impact, particularly evident in the final scene with the Chorus that had the potential to be a climatic moment and bring this unique life's story full circle.
