A dark comedy
The
first reading in this year's
German Spotlight is
I am just like you, I love apples written by
Theresia Walser and translated into English by
Ingrid MacGillis.
Rency Philip directs the excerpted English reading of the play.
© Rency Philip
About the play:
Three wives of well-known despots are about to face journalists. As they prepare to meet the public, the women chat amongst themselves and name-drop famous dictators: dancing with them at parties, visiting their islands, and even being the muse of their poetry. Mediating this huddle is a translator who manipulates their words to ''get the conversation going", instigating them to justify their own deeds while judging those of the others. As the hour gets
closer to the press conference, their exchange becomes more and more brazen and eerily, relatable.
I am just like you, I love apples is a dark comedy that borrows names and events from history to tell a tale that is unfolding in our present.
© Akash Sebastian
Rency Philip is a theatre-maker based in Bangalore who performs for children and adult audiences, incorporating puppetry and physical comedy in her plays. She also works as a scenographer designing and constructing sets and props for dance and theatre productions. In recent years, she has ventured into the digital space and is most thrilled by the internet as a site of performance and nonsense.
Director’s note:
I am familiar with Theresia Walser’s work from a previous reading of an earlier German Spotlight play I was a part of. She writes villainous characters into heinous plots and makes me feel deeply about their actions and intentions, leaving me wondering: had I been in their circumstances, would I have chosen their paths? I am inclined to think we share more in common with those whom we oppose ideologically than we are ready to accept. Since I have ruthlessly reduced the script to fit into the half-hour timeframe, I want to bring its essence back onto the stage through the scenography and soundscape. I am amazed at how the script deftly shifts from describing horrific war crimes to ridiculous and silly wordplay. Like me, I hope the audiences are left with giggles in their bellies and a little churning too.
Credits:
Direction:
Rency Philip
Production:
Shruti Rao
Performers:
Vinod Ravindran, Usha Rao, Vijeta Kumar, Padmini Menon
Only
one performance. Entry
free!
German Spotlight is a joint project of the
Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore and
Sandbox Collective.
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