Pa pa pa Woman woman woman
Illustration: Compagnie Paul Verrept
Two singers, a Mezzo Soprano and a Baritone,
and three virtuoso musicians on recorder, percussion and cymbalom, tell a laughable tale from a female as well as
male perspective.
During the performance the singers from time to time assume the
most divergent roles. They do this with the use of one sole gesture
and quick, sometimes caricatural, changes of styles of singing,
all the while trying to outdo each other. Scenery and props are
kept to a minimum. The instrumentalists are not only the steady
seconds at this Singers’ Duel, they also have their own
dramatic function. With their music they continually answer questions
that the singer poses. They bark, growl, bleat, miaul, bray and
talk, representing animals or people.
Two novelettes of the year 1986 by the Chinese author Han Shaogong
form the basis of this performance.
In these stories Han Shaogong pits the destructive mentality of
the masses against the individual. By specking his stories with
tradition, myth, superstition and modern Western influence Shaogong
wants to also represent the situation in today’s modern
China.
Worldwide, because of its vast population and its explosively
growing economy, China is seen as a test case for our common future
regarding the environment, prosperity, power equilibrium and cultural
subjugation or dominance.
With Shaogong, we want to evoke questions about the idea of the
permanent growth and progress of mankind. Even computers and Internet
may not be able to change our inherent nature. Because we are
trying to deny our animal origin and nature by considering rituals
and myths to be obsolete and not worthy of being part of our modern
rationale, we are disregarding our roots and are perhaps in a
not-so-rational way playing with fire.
synopsis:
Pa pa pa Woman woman woman
Roosterhead Village has fallen into decay and is heading for total
annihilation. A sudden shortage of rice requires a human sacrifice
to the God of Rice. The deformed and defenceless man Misfit is
chosen. But because of fear they postpone his death. Suddenly
there seems to be a connection between strange happenings and
Misfit’s behaviour...
credits:
music & libretto: Klaas
de Vries
text: Han Shaogong; translation: Mark Leenhouts
stage director: Ad de Bont & Oscar Siegelaar
with Wiebe-Pier Cnossen (bariton), Gerrie
de Vries (mezzo-soprano), Jorge Isaac (recorder), Tatiana
Koleva (percussion), Michiel Weidner (cymbalom)
Other productions:
• Der
Hund
• Divine Excess
•
Winterreise
