About the Author: Chris Tsirkas
Chris A. Tsirkas is a software architect and self-taught classicist and playwright, known for breathing new life into ancient narratives through innovative theatrical adaptations. With a deep passion for ancient Greek literature, Tsirkas explores the intricate realms of ancient Greek lyric poetry, drama, philosophy, psychology, religious studies and linguistics in his creative work. His influences also include French opera of the 17th-18th centuries, Shakespeare, Victorian poetry, French symbolism and its impact on modern Greek poetry, and Greek poets like Mavilis, Palamas, Hatzopoulos, and Sikelianos.
His first publication, Βελλεροφόντης (“Bellerophon”), an adaptation of the original work of N. J. Spyropoulos, reimagines the myth through Modern Greek verse.
He followed this with an edition of Euripides’ Βάκχες (“Bacchae”), providing the original text with a metrical translation and commentary, to make classical works accessible to contemporary readers.
In the tragic domain, his work Μέδουσα (“Medusa”) reconstructs an Attic tragedy in classical verse, capturing ancient dramatic traditions for modern audiences.
His adaptation of Euripides' Ἀντιόπη (“Antiope”) in English verse and in Greek (2 separate publications) pieces together the fragmented play with poetic sensitivity, adding commentary, in order to deepen readers' understanding.
His work, Tragedy - Logos, Rhythm and Psyche («Τραγωδία - Λόγος, Ρυθμός και Ψυχή»), explores the linguistic, rhythmic and psychological dimensions of Attic Tragedy. Examining elements like metrics, language and choral odes, this book bridges ancient and modern worlds, with a nuanced look at the enduring power of Τragedy.
In his innovative project "The Veils of the Seven Skies" (2025), Tsirkas merges Attic Tragedy with Chinese Opera aesthetics. Following Dionysus's journey to China's Celestial Court, this work explores questions of Balance and Transformation, through musicalized verse and choreography, creating a dialogue between cultures that illuminates universal themes transcending geographical and temporal boundaries.
In "Morgana - A Tragedy in Five Acts," Tsirkas reimagines the Arthurian legend from Arthur's sister's perspective, combining Elizabethan verse with Greek tragic structure. He portrays Morgana as a priestess caught between ancient wisdom and Christianity, examining how powerful women become villainized when their stories are written by those who fear them.
In "King Starchidagoras - The Phallic Quest to the Underworld," Tsirkas makes a departure from Tragedy to Aristophanic Comedy. This ribald work follows an antihero king, who journeys to the Underworld to retrieve the "First Phallus" and save his city from Aphrodite's curse. Maintaining classical Greek comedy structure while incorporating modern sensibilities, this bawdy satire explores human weakness, political absurdity, and sexual politics, through unapologetically explicit humor and sharp social commentary.
The author invites readers to a literary journey inspired by ancient Greek themes, and also experiments with symphonic metal and other modern music genres, blending the intensity of Attic tragedy with modern music, through AI-composed tracks which unite ancient tradition with today’s dynamic sounds.
"The Veils of the Seven Skies" was born from a personal need to reconstruct the experience of Tragedy —not as narrative, but as passage. In a time where theatre often becomes commentary or spectacle, I longed to return to its ritual core: a place where sound, word and silence become thresholds. The work seeks to revive the Sacred in performance —not through religion, but through the metaphysical weight of form, repetition and gesture. It is a response to the fragmentation of modern selfhood: an offering of self transformation, written for a stage that dares to stand still. I envision this piece not simply as a play, but as a vessel —something ancient souls might recognize, even if they no longer name it. I wrote it so that it might one day be sung by voices who remember how to breathe between the Worlds.
The play is a philosophical and theatrical experiment that aims to bridge ancient worlds, creating a poetic dialogue between the cultural heights of classical Greece and imperial China. Its dramatic verse play merges the structure and philosophical depth of Attic Tragedy with the refined aesthetics and performative precision of traditional Chinese Theatre and Opera. Set upon a semi-operatic vessel, reminiscent of 18th century Italian opera, this work creates a unique synthesis of two seemingly distant but profoundly resonant artistic worlds. The baroque grandeur of the language and spectacle serves the cosmic scope of this East-West symbolical encounter.
The narrative follows Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstatic transformation, as he journeys to the Celestial Court of ancient China. There, his encounter with Princess Lian, daughter of the Jade Emperor, catalyzes a cosmic dialogue between Eastern discipline and Western spontaneity. When the Emperor subjects Dionysus to Five Elemental Trials, both cultures must confront their limitations and discover the complementary nature of their seemingly opposed philosophies. Through Fire, Water, Wood, Metal and Earth, the characters navigate a series of challenges which test not only their physical and spiritual capacities but also their cultural assumptions about order, chaos, freedom and control.
The play integrates authentic elements from both traditions: the Chorus, Choral Odes and dramatic structure of Attic Tragedy alongside the water sleeve techniques (shui xiu) and stylized gestures of Kunqu, structural elements of Yuan Zaju and Ming Chuanqi, and the codified role types of Peking Opera (Jingju). Through musicalized verse and detailed choreographic directions, this work illuminates universal themes which bind human expression across cultures. The play's formal structure honors both traditions, while creating something entirely new —a theatrical language that speaks to our shared humanity.
"The Veils of the Seven Skies" explores timeless questions which have occupied both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions, such as: "How do we balance freedom with form?", "How can tradition embrace change without losing its essence?", and "What happens when seemingly opposite forces discover their shared humanity?". These questions unfold through characters who embody philosophical principles while remaining emotionally compelling —their personal journeys reflecting the larger cultural synthesis at the heart of this work.
This theatrical experiment demonstrates how Dionysian ecstasy and Eastern harmony can converse in a shared theatrical language, transcending time and geography, thus exploring the essential balance between chaos & order, freedom & form, tradition &transformation. It stands as both a literary text and as a potential performance piece which celebrates the richness of global theatrical traditions: a tale of transformation where "Seven Veils" dissolve, revealing the unity beneath our cultural differences.
