Octopus

Marta Navaridas, Alex Deutinger and Christoph Szalay take a close look at the octopus as one of the most charismatic and complex sea-creatures. Whether appearing in myths of old, as ship-devouring monster, as part of political propaganda or in literature, fine arts or film, the octopus has been playing most diverse roles, yet often as embodiment of the Other. Landlocked but with curiosity, Navaridas/Deutinger/Szalay look for the Other within themselves and create a tentacular narrative full of tenderness, touch and desires, inspired by this versatile, enigmatic and incredibly elegant inhabitant of the sea.

Premiered Sep 29th 2018 at Werkstatt Oberzeiring, Austria

9, 10, 12, 14, 15 Oct 2018 at Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria

31, 31 Jan, 1 Feb 2020 at brut, Vienna, Austria

Press

”In a wonderful mix of humour and sensuality they celebrate a poetic togetherness and entanglement of bodies, interspersed with passionately delivered musical flirts with pop-hits such as “Because the Night” or “Believer”.

Kronen Zeitung / Christoph Hartner

“You cannot escape this pull, this message of love, you can just pleseantly succumb to it. After this, you are a “better human”, attentive, loving, playful. A real treat.”

Klaudia Reichenbacher / Theater Kaendace

“Marta Navaridas and Alex Deutinger together with Christoph Szalay dedicate themselves to a sensual flow of movement, a dreamlike human harmony of giving and taking. Yet, they do not lose their critical stance, which is relentlessly proved in the final sequence.”

tanz.at / Eveline Kober

Credits

Concept & Performance  Marta Navaridas, Alex Deutinger, Christoph Szalay Underwater Cinematographer Txema Vega Villate Video Director and Editor Mikel Yarza Music Stephan Sperlich Costumes & Stage Sarah Sternat Sound Engineering Stefan Ehgartner Lighting Design Sveta Schwin Video Documentation Ulrich Reiterer Production Manager Sophie Schmeiser 

Production Performanceinitiative 22 Co-production Theaterland Steiermark Supported by  Kulturamt der Stadt Graz, Kultur Land Steiermark, Bundeskanzleramt Österreich, Forum Stadtpark, Theater im Bahnhof

Thanks to VCR and Monitoring: Streaming on Set (streamingonset.com), Monika Klengel, Jacob Banigan, Sara G. Novi

Photos Clara Wildberger and Michael Traussnig