Karolos Koun

Karolos Koun (; September 13, 1908 in Bursa – February 14, 1987 in Athens) was a prominent Greek theater director, widely known for his lively staging of ancient Greek plays. Biography Koun was born in Bursa, Ottoman Empire to a Greek mother and a Polish Jewish father. He was educated in Ottoman Turkey until the end of high school. He graduated from Robert College in Istanbul and then went to Sorbonne for his university education. As his family's economic situation worsened, he couldn't continue his education. He had been praised all over Europe for his bawdy, colorful stagings of the 5th century BC political comedies of Aristophanes. In 1942, he founded the experimental Art Theater and its drama school. Koun gave premieres in Athens of works by avant-garde European playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht and Luigi Pirandello. In 1962, Koun's production of The Birds by Aristophanes won first prize at an international festival at Paris. He also directed many plays by Aristophanes like The Frogs, Peace (play), Thesmophoriazusae, Lysistrata, and The Acharnians.