Zorba's Last Dance

Zorba! What became of him after the novel’s closing pages and the film’s memorable last scene?

Zorba’s Last Dance pits the historical Giorgis Zorbas against Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of the novel Zorba the Greek. Kazantzakis has just completed the novel when the spirit of the recently deceased Giorgis appears to him. Fearing the eclipse of his identity by the fictional Alexis Zorbas, Giorgis pleads with Kazantzakis for an accurate representation of his life. But Kazantzakis has poured his soul into the novel and sees it as the means to independence as a writer. The ebb and flow of their encounter runs through the relationship of two contemporary characters who seek to overcome the challenges of ageing and illness through the transformative power of theatre and music.

The play explores the fluidity of fact and fiction, the ethical obligations of authors to their source material, the imperative nature of the creative process, and the obligations of friendship.