Pogo Bar: Shade Théret & Magdalena Mitterhofer
Hellcat
© Rob Kulisek
Warped and forced back inwards, rage implodes as frustration, obsession or psychosis. With Hellcat, Shade Théret and Magdalena Mitterhofer investigate implosions of female rage leading to uncontrolled expressive moments, if not outbursts. They depart from two confessional references: fragments from Anne Sexton’s Live or Die (1966) are restructured following the interview format of Paolo Pasolini’s Comizi d’amore (1965). These sources respectively deal with mental illnesses and mother-daughter relationships, and stances on love and sexuality from representatives of a variety of social brackets in Italy at the time.
The opposing spheres on stage – the domestic and the public – initially present the two characters as each other’s antithesis. Mitterhofer sits relaxed in a house-like structure, and laughs manically. Dressed in a red silky dress adorned with glitters, Théret’s movements on an elevated stage element are slow and determined, breathing audibly controlled. As the choreography unravels, a dialectical pull and push happens several times for various, ambiguous reasons. As such, Théret and Mitterhofer explore origins of destruction, hysteria, violence, and intimate resistance. Ultimately, they point out shifting dynamics between female subjects, set within the larger defining mechanisms of society.
Directed and performed by Shade Théret and Magdalena Mitterhofer
Set Design by Joseph Bourgois
Sound by Alexander Iezzi
Co-produced by Tanzquartier Wien
As a duo, Shade Théret and Magdalena Mitterhofer combine their varied backgrounds and develop a style that crosses the boundaries between visual arts, theater and dance. Together, they often use narrative structures such as mythology and poetry as starting points to explore ideas around freedom and desire. Questions around accessibility in architecture, staging and representation are a constant source of inspiration and are expressed through different mediums. Théret and Mitterhofer’s work has recently been shown at Kunstverein München and Tanzquartier Wien. Together, they also curate and produce lament.tv, a site-specific performance and video series.