Review: THE MERMAID. LOVE ANATOMY. at Teatr Wspolczesny Wroclaw

I love magical realism and after seeing this show I wonder why theater makers use it so rarely (too bad, too bad). Fortunately, there are times like in contemporary theatre, when reality clashes wonderfully with magic.

Based on a novel written by Amanda Lee Koe, the show takes us to a different world, it's magical, safe, natural, and even weird things are somehow comfy.

This piece will hypnotize you like the taffeta of a warm sea glistening in the setting sun's light. It's magical, it's mysterious, it's full of emotions.

Daria Kopec takes us to an Universum full of sensitivity, with the themes of escape, alienation, inadequacy, and social patterns, but above all a great need for closeness and unity, the need to be here and now in harmony not only with oneself but with the approval of the outside world. All the characters have their anxieties, the cages they're trapped in, and self-imposed or self-made restrictions that keep them from being free. They have their secrets, crazy questions that keep them awake, that drive them mad.

As an audience, we have to answer the question of what is normal and what is not. Should we judge, and if so, on what?

Each character has their own story and you will find a part of yourself in each of them. Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt (each hit underwater hurts less). Daria Kopec asks some very good questions: Which is more difficult: hiding your real "you" or fighting with yourself? What is your reaction if your life does not fit into mediocrity?

It is difficult to describe the characters unambiguously because they are constantly evolving and changing, the ensemble, Anna Kieca, Ewa Niemotko, Mariusz Bakowski, Rafal Cieluch, Przemyslaw Kozlowski, Milosz Pietruski, Jerzy Senator, Tomasz Taranta makes this theatrical infusion very intense and aromatic. Ewa Niemotko is the best mermaid you can imagine, she is shamelessly psychedelic, out of this world. You start to understand why mermaids are so fascinating and watching her makes you want to become a sailor, find one for yourself, and let her ruin your life. She's perfect in this role, she's a mermaid.

The show is also magnetic thanks to the incredible duo playing live music (Aleksandra Gronowska and Michal Litwiniec) and scenography (by Matylda Kotlinska). You may feel underwater where your body and mind function differently and perceive the world in different terms. It's touching, vulnerable, and somehow true. You will be charmed in the big blue.

Photo: Natalia Kabanow