Karolos Koun establishes the KarolosKoun Theater of Art

In 1942 the great teacher of theater (1908-1987) founded the Theatre of Art, where he staged plays of great authors such as Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, Pirandello, and after the liberation, for the first time in Greece, plays by Lorca, Tennessee Williams, Miller, etc. In 1942 he established the drama school of his theatre, which was attended by major directors and actors of the post-war generation. In 1949 due to financial difficulties, the theatre halted its operation, but in 1954 it was reinstituted. Koun started to produce plays by contemporary playwrights, such as Ionesco, Dario Fo, Beckett, Brecht, and Pinter, as well as works by contemporary Greek playwrights such as Campanellis, Kechaidis, and Anagnostakis.

At the same time, he begins his dedicated involvement with ancient tragedy and comedy.
In 1959 he stages Aristophanes' 'The Birds, a memorable performance because it was considered provocative at the time, a theatrical fiasco even. In reality, it became memorable because of the amazing translation by VassilisRotas, Manos Hadjidakis' unparalleled music, and legendary costumes and sets by Tsarouchis. Although government minister K. Tsatsos banned the performance, it was repeated in 1960 and performed in many countries. "The Birds" won the first prize at the Festival of Nations in 1965.