On Friday, October 2, 2026, all Junior High School Grade 3 students attended a performance of The Only Journey of His Life at the Athens College Theater. Based on the autobiographical short story by Georgios Vizyinos, the play was brought to life on stage under the direction of Dimos Avdeliodis, with a standout performance by Giorgos Nikopoulos.

A unique stage actor, Giorgos Nikopoulos masterfully transformed himself from the ten-year-old tailor’s apprentice into the grandfather. Through his voice, gestures, and gaze, he brought to life Vizyinos’s challenging original language, which blends Katharevousa, a formal form of Greek influenced by ancient Greek, with Demotic Greek, the vernacular language, featuring folk expressions and idioms from Eastern Thrace.

The simple set allowed students to focus on the deeper meaning of the play: the harsh living conditions of a ten-year-old child, softened by the grandfather’s stories of palaces and princesses; the enduring love between grandparents and grandchildren; and the power of imagination to provide shelter in difficult times.

The grandfather’s fairy tales and imaginary journeys were not simply lies, but a way of surviving a harsh reality. In the end, the grandfather’s death became his own great journey— “the only journey of his life”.