Making space for others. How do you do that?
A chorus of men try to empathize with the female gaze. As best they can, they try to disappear themselves to make room for the woman. Taking the text Over Dieren by the Austrian writer, Elfriede Jellinek, and a group of male performers as a starting point, theater maker Rebekka Nilsson created a RAW in which she examines to what extent we are able to make room for the other
In Over Dieren an older woman talks about how she is slowly disappearing. The fact that her husband no longer sees her, now that she is no longer desirable, and not being seen, is for her, equal to not existing. Jellinek connects the older woman’s text with (real) conversations between a brothel and its customers, in which the women are little more than commodities. For Nilsson, the text is a unique starting point to explore how the dominant male gaze determines the behavior of both men and women.
REBEKKA NILSSON
Rebekka Nilsson graduated from the directing program at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in 2019 with Woede by Elfriede Jellinek and Nora by Ibsen. Nilsson creates visual and musical performances where she turns the stage text inside out to bring out its current urgency.
NITE RAW
RAW is an innovative talent development program from NITE, where talented makers are guided to develop their artistry through research and experimentation. Creators are encouraged to take risks, push boundaries and explore different parts of their creative potential. The goal is to bring to life a concept that is unfinished, open-ended and does not necessarily have a beginning, middle and end.
CREDITS
Direcor: Rebekka Nilsson | Director’s assistant: Sofie Boiten | Dramaturgy: Florian Hellwig | Scenography: Vera Selhorst | Performers: Bram van der Heijden, Joost Bolt, Tim Linde, Felix Schellekens, Niels Kuiters | Composition: Luke Deane
