Giannis Patsis was born in Lagkadia, Arcadia, and lives in Athens. He studied Political Science, Journalism and Telecommunications. He speaks English and German.

His earliest writings were prose. His short stories were published in Athenian newspapers and magazines, and he received distinctions in two literary competitions.

He began writing for the theatre in 1969, although he kept his plays unpublished and unperformed for several years. The first of his works to be presented was Dog, broadcast by Greek National Radio on 20 April 1986. His plays were subsequently presented by small experimental theatre companies and on the radio.

His Three One-Act Plays: Chess, Journey, Insensitivity were self-published in book form in 1978. His dramas Dog and Zenobia were published by Dodoni Publications in 1987 and 1988 respectively, while a revised version of Achilles II was published by Haris Patsis European Publications in 2010.

Kastaniotis Publications published his Anthology of German Post-War Short Stories, selected, translated and introduced by Giannis Patsis, featuring works by German-language writers including Jens, Weber, Kaschnitz, Borchert, Fritz, Grass, Dürrenmatt, Böll, Weiss, Marti, Bender, Baumgart and Deiber, among others.

In May 1993, Achilles II was staged in Russian at the Komissarzhevskaya State Theatre in St Petersburg, directed by Alexander Isakov, with Boris Sokolov in the title role.

His artistic collaborations between Greece and Russia also include the screenplay for the film The Onassis Legacy, a co-production with Moscow’s Soyuz Studios and Greek co-producers Spyros Mercouris and Giannis Patsis.

He has been a member of the Greek Playwrights’ Society since 1989. In 1995, the Society awarded him an honorary distinction for his contribution to promoting Greek playwriting abroad. Achilles II was published in Greek by European Publications in 2011 and in German by Frankfurter Verlagsgruppe in 2012.

PLAYS

Terrorist (You and Your God), 2017
Double Life, 2017
Lola. Love Machine, 2017
Journey Without End, 2015
Dark Matter, 2015
Decomposition, Composition of Bodies and Spirits, 2012
The Extraterrestrial, 2011
VIM, 2011
Labyrinth, 2008
Virtual Reality, 2004
Insensitivity: Words That Create Life, Words That Create Death, 2001
Leon, Lena, 2000
The Simple Development of a Complex Story, 1999
The Papadopoulou Holy Family, 1998
Dim Light, 1998
Imperfect Identity or Unfinished Portrait, 1997
And Then Came… the Night, 1997
Savoir Vivre, 1996
Zenobia, the Lady of Power, 1987
Photographs, 1986
Night, Mother of Day, 1986
Elections, Greek Style, 1985
The End of Capitalism, 1984
Socrates, 1984
Dog, 1984
Patricide, 1983
Prisons, 1983
I Am, or The Nightmare, 1979
Adam, Eve and Us, 1979
Achilles II, 1979
Three One-Act Plays, 1973
Report of Activities, 1972
Visibles and Visions, 1971
Words, Poisonous Words, 1970
Reheated Soup, …
The Virgin, the Murderer and the Writer, …
Cyclogram, …