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Hilton (Ben
Steinhoff) the DJ cowboy of the islands
broadcasts to the world in THE TROPIC OF X
by Caridad Svich
Directed by Marcy Arlin at artheater-Cologne, Germany (2007)
Photo © 2007
Kristof Geiss. |
For trailer go to
http://www.artheater.info/artheater.html
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THE TROPIC OF X
Directed by Marcy Arlin at artheater-Cologne, Germany (2007)
Left
Kiki (Sunga Weineck)
Photo ©2007
Kristof Geiss. |
"Even in the loveliest Caribbean idyllic vacation spot, the history/story is
split. When you’re one of the losers in society, the fight for survival is
told in buzzwords like violence, poverty, drugs, and prostitution. In the
drama The Tropic of X, from Cuban-Argentine author Caridad Svich, the couple
Maura and Mori struggle with these problems. As young adults they live
together like street children with the transsexual Kiki on the beach of a
random place somewhere in Latin America. The American director Marcy Arlin
from the Immigrants Theatre Project in New York directed the premier at the
Artheater’s space in cooperation with Lowskin Productions in Cologne. (See
also June 2007 StadtRevue.)
On the stage in front of a south sea beach panorama stand two color-smeared
car seats. Little pieces of paper are littered everywhere. At the edge of
the stage in a bamboo shack sitting at the mixer console is a radio DJ
wearing a Hawaiian shirt. Maura (Heidrun Reinhardt) and Mori (Stephen
Appleton) are disillusioned. Their existence? A deadline. Sometimes they
resort to wilding; sometimes they hire themselves out as hustlers. The two
invest this loot in cyber-games. In the virtual world they surf like rich
“Euro-tourists” on Jet-Skis and feel as immortal as street-fighters in a
shootout.
Yet their relationship also provides a sense of security. During the moments
in which the couple lolls on the car seats, the couple’s dreams and
(violent) fantasies are allowed free reign, and they become lovers. Between
the two emerges something of their own, something that becomes even stronger
in contrast to everything outside. Kiki’s provocations prompt Maura to
defend her love-relationship even to a bloody end. Still the couple has no
chance against the ongoing process of a violent dictatorship, imposed from
outside. Mori is kidnapped and brought to a place full of violence from
which Maura can indeed liberate, but not rescue, him.
At the center of The Tropic of X lies a divided history/story with a double
meaning. From the point of view of those that live on the edge of society
the Caribbean scenario sometimes becomes so alien and disturbing that one
feels the cultural dispossession of this colonized society in an almost
literally physical sense. The expressive, direct interaction of the actors
creates this premise. Narrator-DJ Hilton (Ben Steinhoff) provides an
additional bizarre touch, imparting an atmosphere of Latino rhythms from
Bossa Nova to Hip-Hop as well as loose introductory and ongoing
scene-commentary.
The evening creates a nightmarish feeling – if one is accustomed to
experiencing the story/ies-history/ies from the perspective of the
“superiors.”
Ulrike Westhoff in StadtRevue (June 2007), translated by Erik Abbott.
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THE TROPIC OF X
Directed by Marcy Arlin at artheater-Cologne, Germany (2007)
Left
Maura (Heidrun
Reinhardt) and Mori (Steven Appleton)
Photo ©2007
Kristof Geiss. |
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