Father of modern Cypriot theatre dies

24/1/13

PHIVOS Moussoulides, former diplomat, and co-founder of the Lyriko theatre in 1942, and of the first professional theatre group in Cyprus, died on Wednesday aged 94.

Moussoulides was married  for 70 years. He leaves behind three sons, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

In addition to being well known for the founding of the Lyriko with compatriots, poet Costas Montis who died in 2004 at the age of 90 and composter Achilles Limbourides, Moussoulides also served at various times as the Greek Consul to Ireland, and the Cypriot Consul to Ireland.

In 1954 he moved to Ireland with his family.moustaches

There he founded the Irish Hellenic Society to ensure that Greeks, Cypriots and Irish people benefited from an opportunity to meet and exchange cultures.  In the 1960s he served as Greek Consul to Ireland during which time he founded the Greek Orthodox Church in Ireland. In the 1970s he served as the Cypriot Consul to Ireland and when Pope John Paul II visited Dublin, Moussoulides and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain were granted an audience.

When Moussoulides returned to Cyprus in the 1980s, he founded the Cyprus Irish Society.

In an interview with the Cyprus Mail in 2002, he spoke extensively about his role in the birth of modern Cypriot theatre and the opening of the Lyriko in a converted garage on Aristotle Street where they presented musical comedy and playful satire to hundreds of delighted Cypriots. Moussoulides, Montis and Limbourides had to single-handedly write the show, train performers and secure a venue – all with the required permission from the colonial government at a time when the British government strictly regulated public gatherings.

Moussoulides admitted that he told officials the shows would focus on religious themes, even going so far as to dress one of the actors up as a bishop to wait in the car outside while he made his proposal.

The group also initially struggled to find qualified actors and in the early shows, a lot of the women’s roles were played by men with moustaches until  acting became more acceptable occupation for women.

Their first show, Soupa Moupes played 46 times, which was then considered an unprecedented theatrical success. Demand was so great that the group had to hire police officers to keep order as people pushed through the doors to see the show.

Moussoulides, who was married to his wife Hera for 70 years, died peacefully surrounded by his family in Lefkosia, his three sons, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

The funeral will take place at the Costantinos and Eleni cemetery in Nicosia today at 11am.

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