RAGADA BY MARIO BANUSHI
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi
Photo by Mario Banushi

RAGADA

By Mario Banushi

I’ve always said that birth is an inverse love.

Ragada (Ραγάδα) is the greek word for stretch mark. Stretch mark is a form of scarring  on the skin with an off-colour hue. Over time they may diminish, but will not disappear  completely. Stretch marks are caused by tearing of the dermis during periods of rapid  growth of the body, such as during pregnancy. Once they have formed there is no  clearly effective treatment, though various methods have been attempted and studied. “I’ve always said that birth is an inverse love. I’ve tried to go back to my mother’s hole.  Threat. Fog. The boy with the blood stained clothes is lugging the woman who  attempted to emigrate, the woman who attempted to get sick, the woman who  attempted to commit suicide. Absurdity. And that sound pierced me. Mourning. Silent  creatures with tearful screams. Voices mute after the deafening confession. Farse. The  cruelty birthing woman. I thought it was the placenta and I ate it like a proper mother.  Eagering creatures. The odour of sour milk, hot bread, wet soil. I deny my birth.  Destruction. In another future I will be born inwards.”
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MARIO BANUSHI

Credits

Conceived and directed by Mario Banushi

Cast Mario Banushi, Xenia Dania, Rita Litou, Aulona Lupa

Music composition & sound design Emmanouel Rovithis

Set & lighting design Mario Banushi

Costume design Nikoleta Anastasiadou & Mario Banushi

Assistant director Theodora Patiti

Set adaptation Sotiris Melanos

Special lighting constructions Giorgos Ierapetritis

Photography Mario Banushi, Angelos Barai

International relations, production & tour management TooFarEast – Nikos Mavrakis

Line production TooFarEast – Ioanna Papakosta

Co-produced by Venice Biennale, Onassis Stegi, The Coronet Theatre, Noorderzon Festival Groningen, Mario Banushi & TooFarEast


The pre-presentation of Ragada, under the title Fragments of Ragada, opened in Athens and was presented at Kappatos Rooms in February 2022, followed by a series of performances at Theatro Sti Sala in May 2022.


We wholeheartedly thank Gerasimos Kappatos & Kappatos Rooms, Chryssi Vidalaki & Theatro Sti Sala, Amalia Bennett, Maria-Nefeli Chalari, Alexandra Hasani, Kostas Papakostas, Myrto Stamatopoulou, Pinelopi Tsoutsouva, Andreas Voukenas and Andy Xhuma.


The presentation of Ragada is supported by the Onassis Stegi Touring Program

Past & upcoming tour dates:

Noorderzon Festival | Groningen, Netherlands | 20,21,22 August 2026

Venice Biennale Teatro | Venice, Italy | 7-14 June 2026

Fragments of Ragada | Theatro sti Sala | Athens, Greece | May 2022

Fragments of Ragada | Kappatos Rooms | Athens, Greece | February 2022