Who’s afraid of Oscar Wilde
You don't have to be a seasoned theater lover to have heard of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. A famed relationship drama in which husband and wife Martha and George wage a refined and cool verbal war in front of their guests Honey and Nick. What first appears to be an embarrassing fight in a souring marriage turns out to be a squabble about something very specific: their childlessness.
Compagnie Red Yellow & Blue takes this award-winning masterpiece by Edward Albee and turns it into a black kitchen table comedy about four queer thirty-somethings and the relationship troubles of today.
It's Friday night again and siblings Bram and Vera are setting out snacks and drinks for their weekly get-together with their partners Manu and Sinem. A regular ritual to end the week and usher in the weekend. They've gladly traded the wild parties of their twenties for peace, cleanliness, and regularity. Normally, this social gathering is the moment to relax together, but this week there's tension in the air.
The decision by Vera and Sinem to 'start having children' began as a prelude to cloud nine, but the topic has since become a touchy subject. Who would have thought that both women wanted to carry the child in order to 'see a piece of themselves reflected'? That's why Bram and Vera have prepared a pitch for tonight. A solution for Vera's unfulfilled, postponed, and now silent desire to have a child with her girlfriend Sinem. An out-of-the-box idea, with no idea how it will be received by their partners.
Who’s Afraid of Oscar Wilde is a kitchen table comedy that respectfully nods to Albee's original relationship drama. Who are today's Marthas and Georges? What are the hurdles they must overcome to step over their own egos and the bureaucratic barriers they need to break through to fulfill their desire for a child?
Daan van Bendegem captured it in sharp dialogues and sketches a portrait of a generation in which four queer millennials struggle with sadly challenging tasks but are also laughably recognizable.
Previous next About Compagnie Red Yellow & Blue Compagnie Red Yellow & Blue is a young company founded by theater maker Daan van Bendegem. His performances could best be characterized as energetic, dynamic, and direct; he moves towards his goal at a high pace, without too many detours. If it helps, he's not even averse to using crude means, a large dose of humor, and grotesque play. Daan wants to grab the viewer by the scruff of the neck and not let go. But never without reason.
All these means serve a purpose: to penetrate to the core of the absurd (and exaggerated) world that is staged. The performances of Compagnie Red Yellow & Blue emphatically concern the 'here and now'. And more specifically: about the difficult task of living together. Even when drawing on repertoire - as in his adaptation of Anna Karenina (2019) - the straitjacket of nineteenth-century conventions that traps the protagonist serves as a metaphor for the stifling conventions we are now struggling with. Daan does not shy away from explicitly seeking this parallel.
Credits concept and text Daan van Bendegem | play Daan van Bendegem, Sharlee Jo Daantje, Eline van Gils, and Tobe Vandekerckhove | final direction Ellen Goemans | production: Anna Huizing | PR Dagmar Bokma | business management n’ More / Ellen van Bunnik.