Ophelia’s Got Talent

On the wet terrain of the stage, ‘being Ophelia’ is practised: the embodiment of the laws that surround her and the conscious fulfilment of others’ fantasies are part of an ambivalent game of which she is the master.

The stories of her ancestors – Leda, Melusine, Undine, the nymphs, Nereids and sirens – continue to shape their lives to this day. They are excellent dancers who love music and lure people into the water, drawing them down into the depths and allowing them to gaze into the mirror of Venus. Yet the true locus of their significance remains hidden, submerged in darkness. It is only through the process of decay that their bodies rise to the surface, where they float until they are discovered – or until they disintegrate and become one with nature.

Water is the element of adaptation and, at the same time, a symbol of expansion – an endless, eternal, indissoluble unity with the outside world. Iconographically, femininity has often been associated with water, but also with death: the mirror-smooth pond stands for the domestication of female subjectivity, the foam on the sea for its dissolution, the fish’s tail for her denied sexuality.

In an oceanic landscape brimming with cultural and historical references to water spirits and drowned strangers, the aim is not merely to escape the precarious circumstances of a present shaped by climate catastrophe scenarios. Rather, this world speculates on new forms of life that absorb these conditions, transform them and manifest themselves as new beings.

Fluctuation, reflection, reproduction, healing and violence: in Florentina Holzinger’s new work at the Volksbühne, a multidisciplinary ensemble spanning several generations embarks on a physical exploration of the psychology of water in the 21st century.

Please note: A minimum age of 18 is recommended for attending the performance.

Trigger warning

Please note:

The show *Ophelia’s Got Talent* contains:

• Acts of self-harm
• Blood
• Needles
• Stroboscopic effects
• Explicit depictions or descriptions of physical or sexual violence