Six countries, six stories, six languages, six women longing and womanhood
Who am I? Where do I belong? What does femininity mean? What does home mean? These are the questions six actresses attempt to answer in the play "Fairytales from home", each in their own personal way.
It is 8:05 p.m. on December 4th, and a diverse audience is taking their seats in the intimate theater Neues Schauspiel Leipzig. The performing ensemble, consisting of Karen Mesquita, Maria Gallo, Tetiana Bielun, Asisa Schlechte, Aoife McGovern and Jun, enters the stage dressed in all-black. The room falls silent, and the premiere begins.
“Fairytales from Home” is a compilation of fairy tales and legends passed down through generations. Each of the six women presents a story from her own culture or country. Initiated by the English Theatre Leipzig, which seeks to create an international platform for cultural and artistic exchange, the act is performed mostly in English, but it also contains elements from Ukrainian, Portuguese, Italian, Vietnamese, Irish, and Farsi.
“Do I belong here?”
“Fairytales from Home” uses musical elements as well as acting and dancing. Each of the six stories is staged individually, with the women taking items of clothing from hooks visible on stage throughout the play and putting them on to perform their story.
In the Brazilian fairy tale, “Iara, the Mother of Water,”, Karen Mesquita uses shadows and a glittering cloth to visualize the narration in the background. The story “Selkie, the Dancer in the Moonlight” by Irish performer Aoife McGovern recalls the tradition of old storytelling.
These stories are followed by a short interlude during which the performers sit together in an open circle and exchange their experiences with Germany—some lighthearted, some profound. “Do I belong here?” remains an open question.
Free, loud, loving – what it means to be a woman
A white dress introduces “The Fortune-teller of St. Andrew’s Eve” by Ukrainian Tetiana Bielun. She recounts innocent customs from her childhood, but when images of destroyed Ukraine are shown in the background, the childlike carefreeness shatters. Equally moving is the Italian story of “Saint Maria Goretti, the Virgin,” told by Maria Gallo in traditional clothing.
Afterwards, the six women meet again in a circle and talk about when they felt like women and what it means to be a woman. Being free, loud, and loving are some of the answers, but also being objectified.
Asisa Schlechte tells the story of “Arash the Archer” from Iran, in which a female warrior saves an entire people. The last story, “Toad is Heaven’s Uncle,” comes from Vietnam and is a children’s story about solidarity despite differences.
Despite the minimalist stage design, the performance manages to evoke a multitude of emotions – from lightheartedness to deep emotion. The actresses listen to each other’s stories in a respectful and attentive manner, seeming to support and encourage each other to share. Through this intimate interaction between the performers, the central question of home and belonging is answered to some extent. They conclude that home is a feeling rather than an actual place as they perform intimate movement choreographies in pairs. The impression emerges that the women have found this emotional home together and are now allowing the audience a glimpse into their “safe space.”
The meaning of being a woman is also explored through the many strong female protagonists and warriors in the stories. However, harmful portrayals of women in the legends are also critically addressed, such as in the case of the young Maria Goretti, who forgave her own murderer in the story. In a brief moment, the viewer is confused about why this cruel story is being glorified, but there is a categorization, criticism, and even a separation from a story that had shaped the narrator’s childhood. The approachability and narrative style of the stories allow viewers to emotionally merge with the characters, and the „interim evaluations“ allow – especially female viewers – to reflect on conflicts in their own identities and define femininity in the context of independence for themselves. A discussion at the end about femininity forms the climax of an emotional roller coaster ride that makes the complexity of one’s emotional world tangible. The play’s intensity stems from its atmosphere, which shifts between moving and humorous. Greater variety in these emotional transitions – perhaps by reordering the stories –might have increased the effect. It’s an impressive work nonetheless which can be seen in the viewers’ eyes glistening with tears as they applaud.
Titelbild: Mim Schneider / @m.i.m.s.k.i.
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