Critics’ Briefs on Dirty Deal Teatro’s performance “Witches” directed by Marta Elina Martinson
Games with monkeys
Julia Dybovska: The youngest Dirty Deal Teatro the production is based on Daina Tabūnas’ award-winning novel “Witches” (2023): Alma, a young woman who has experienced a breakup with her boyfriend, begins an unusual path to harmony, full of various esoteric and psychological twists and turns. The play directed by Marta Elina Martinsones confirms that the production is meant to enjoy the spark of humor contained in absurd situations and types and to feel cozy and warm after the performance.
Sandijas Dovgāne’s Alma is not alone – she is surrounded by two cousins in her narrow circle of communication (the one who always gets along with children is played by Rihards Zeleznevs, and the other one who goes on dates is played by Alice Dzene). The theater has been able to enrich the characters depicted in the novel, for example, with Zeleznev’s indulgence in travesty and a feminine headscarf where necessary. However, this does not lead to the exaggeration of the female characters, and the actor manifests himself to the point of absurdity, for example, in the role of the esoteric black worm that occupied Alma’s apartment. He is also convincingly dramatic as Alma’s ex. Caricaturedly comic – like a priest, an old man of tarot cards (?) or a nobleman in Alma’s dreams. Dzene plays a less prominent role as a cousin, but she is active in the creation of other female characters (psychic, country wife, mother, etc.). Thus, while playing in the theater, the characters played by Zeleznev and Dzene alternate and interact, and fill the space around Alma, who remains rather passive.
Alma is so constant that she often merges, falls and sleeps in the main element of the scenography – a huge down blanket that offers a certain promise of peace with its flesh in all forms; whose filling shines ugly in the backlight; which is slightly foamy when tapped harder; who is able to stand like a tsunami over the characters of the show, portraying the wall of an old house, a window that is torn to pieces when Alma’s heart breaks. The duvet in this show is like the first and sometimes the only available and true therapist for depression, a self-deprecating rebuke to all who indulge in it in moments of crisis.
Sleeping Alma, who is the least like a princess, sees in her blanket feminist dreams of women of the past, who are led to witchcraft by the stupidity of men. And that makes Alma’s mind the main theme of this show: what is not so hidden in the fantasy world of a creative woman. And was the divorce from Robert even real? Are the cousins fictional too? The theater calls several axioms of the novel into question, but at the same time it does not solve any of Alma’s problems, except that she cannot complain about loneliness in the vortex of these various, albeit only fictional, characters. Even the dust mites in the down comforter are close allies of her visions.
The musical accompaniment of the play, composed by Katie Barbale, works as a powerful element of intrigue in Alma’s “journey”. Partly also gives an esoteric vibe. However, is the show really about witches? Is Daina Tabuna’s novel about witches? Externally, both of these artworks use the stylish image of the witch to capture the attention of the modern reader/viewer. However, it is a trap – even the black worm that seems to have possessed Alma’s apartment, which follows the psychic like a puppy, makes it clear that it is not about the supernatural, but quite the opposite – about the completely natural: the desire to be loved. At times, the show plays tricks and reveals its human desire to laugh with the audience. It happens that laughter has a sincere basis. But, like the table with books, which played only a decorative role on the stage during the performance, some of the scenes also seemed a little self-serving, because it was in a novel, others – memorably played (the black worm, of course). Another question – why should this show take itself seriously? While Alma sleeps in a giant down blanket, the others have a chance to have fun.
Between truth, illusion and intuition
Kathy Yurchenko: And Dirty Deal Teatro for the characterization of director Marta Elina Martinson’s production “Raganas”, based on the novel of the same name by Daina Tabūnas, three Tarot cards should be used, they would be: “Moon” – about the unclear boundaries between truth, illusion and intuition, “Tower” – about the moment when old structures collapse, and “Strength” – about the courage to overcome the darkness in oneself.
From the very first scenes, the aesthetics of a dream and a nightmare are evident, in which the audience follows the Alma of actress Sandijas Dovgānes. In the dramaturgy co-created by the director and the author, Alma lives in an in-between state – broken and abandoned by her boyfriend, at the lowest point of her life, she tries to see a new story in herself, turning to the world of magic and mysticism. At the same time, the relationship with the cousins played by Rihards Zelezneva and Alice Dzenes, whose characters retain the light grotesque touch of the novel, worsens.
The space created by set designer and costume designer Kate Krolle is one of the show’s greatest assets. The giant down blanket that covers the playing field resembles a king-sized bed and at the same time a sea of depression that has been allowed to transform. Sometimes it turns into a heavy dress, sometimes a small house or even a wall, on which the story written by Alma is brought to life with the aesthetics of shadow theater. Kroll’s costumes strike a balance between the mundane and the fantasy, creating a sense that the characters live between our time and the mythology constructed by Alma. Melanie Linda Muscar’s choreography mirrors the show’s humor. The actors move freely and playfully. A special treat is the black worm played by Zelezneva, who roams the game room, but, enchanted by the healer Alice Dzene, becomes a domesticated creature. On the other hand, the priestess of Dzene, moving in elevated stylization of yoga poses, aptly depicts Alma’s view of the incomprehensible but intriguing environment in which she has found herself. Katya Barbale’s music, created for the needs of the performance, marks the mythical space of the performance with light ethnographic and ritual shades, while Yulia Bondarenko’s light play with warm and cool contrasts aptly complements the feelings of Alma’s inner world.
The play’s narrative moves in a fragmented way, with occasional irony, especially in a scene that openly quotes the series Gossip Girlreminding of the generation whose ideas about romance were born in movie studios. However, the means of expression characteristic of films do not always organically merge with the form of the theater, for example, when the passage of time is tried to be depicted in a conversation with the change of music and minimal mise-en-scene changes, or in the scene where Zeleznev’s character must freeze in time so that Alice Dzenes Madara can focus on the narration of the inner voice, creating a narrative.
Thematically, the show talks about a woman’s vulnerability and craving for security. The world of social networks, modern female-goddess events, visits from healers, tarot promises – all this appears recognizable and apt, but at times you get the feeling that the show stands on the border between irony and empathy for those who are really looking for help.
“Raganas” is an aesthetically bright, visually intelligent and delightfully raucous production that demonstrates Martinson’s ability to create vivid characters and humorous scenes. Although the emotional line of the plot remains slightly blurred at times, the motifs of dream and reality allow this ambiguity to be accepted as an intuitive part of the show to tuck under the covers.
