Olympia Bukkakis & Maria F. Scaroni: Unsex Me Here – Sophiensæle | Independent Theater in Berlin

Olympia Bukkakis & Maria F. Scaroni: Unsex Me Here

UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-144
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In Unsex Me Here trans femmes meet sages-femmes, the perimenopausal become seriously regal bitches, and voiceless queens make themselves heard in a kaleidoscope of ritual acts of feminist solidarity. In a dance and drag performance, Maria F. Scaroni and Olympia Bukkakis explore the figures of the Queen and the Witch, both in the Western historical imagination and in the queer and now. 

Drag queen and choreographer Olympia Bukkakis is often called a queen (because she is one) and dancer and choreographer Maria F. Scaroni is frequently labelled a witch (because she is one). For this piece they take these often humorously ascribed titles seriously, exploring what it means to be a monarch, healer, drag queen, crone, trans femme and (peri)menopausal woman; what it means to be childless and yet fruitful. To refuse reproduction, and yet multiply. 

For their first performative collaboration Maria F. Scaroni and Olympia Bukkakis stage a duet that draws on their own lived experiences as well as their joint practice of somatic drag. Unsex Me Here begins with two familiars alone in a room strewn with the debris of feminine life. Throughout the piece they dress up and down, experiment with different ways of moving, speaking and singing, and support each other in various numbers, virtuosic nonsenses and necromantic prayers.

Evening information

The information on accessibility is still in progress and will be updated as soon as possible. If any questions remain unanswered until then, please feel free to contact the communication department at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35. Please note that details may change by the day of the event. Therefore, if you find out after you have purchased your ticket that the performance is no longer accessible to you, you can contact us for a ticket return at ticketing@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 45 until 5 business days after the event (Monday through Friday between 10am and 6pm).

Duration

  • Approx. 85 minutes without intermission

Language

  • English, German, and Italian spoken language

Lighting

  • Alternating between bright and dim lighting
  • Some very dark moments
  • Some rapid and sudden changes in lighting
  • Stroboscopic lighting effects
  • Moving lights in various shapes, colors, and speeds
  • The audience will be briefly blinded at one point

Sound

  • Live vocals and live cello

Interaction

  • The audience will be asked for donations at one point

Smell

  • Hairspray is used on stage

Other

  • A small amount of stage fog is used at the back of the stage.

Audience

  • Seated grandstand
  • 2 beanbag seats bookable according to availability
  • 2 wheelchair seats bookable according to availability

Early boarding

  • There will be a long admission. Doors open 10 minutes before the show.

Tickets

  • Reservations can be made via the ticket telephone at 030 283 52 66, Monday to Friday from 4pm-6pm
  • Via the online ticket shop
  • At the box office

You can also find more information about accessibility at the house here.

Concept, choreography, performance: Maria F. Scaroni, Olympia Bukkakis
Lighting design, technical direction: Hanna Kritten Tangsoo
Composition, sound design: Malu Peeters
Set: Camille Lacadee
Set assistance: Sy-Yu Chen
Costume: Hungry, with additional pieces by Jay Barry Matthews and Alexis Mersmann
Production: Anna Chwialkowska
Production assistance, artistic collaboration: Camila Malenchini
Outside Eyes: Camila Malenchini, Oozing Gloop, Maciej Sado, Dalai Cellai
With guest performances by Fagatha Crispy and Oozing Gloop
With thanks to: Melanie Jame Wolf, Rupert Enticknap

A production by Olympia Bukkakis and Maria F. Scaroni in coproduction with Sophiensæle. Funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. Supported by Tanzfabrik Berlin, PSR Kollektiv, PACT Zollverein Essen, Emanat Ljubljana and Dance is Ancient Malmö. Media partners:  Missy Magazine, Siegessäule, taz.

  • UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-144
    © Mayra Wallraff
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    © Mayra Wallraff
  • UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-102
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-127
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-12
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • UnsexMeHere©MayraWallraff-97
    © Mayra Wallraff
  • Two persons are on the floor of a stage under green lighting. One person lies stretched out on their back while the other sits on their body, arching their upper body backward. A shoe and a hairpiece lie on the stage floor nearby.
    © Asina Jurca Avci
  • Two persons lie on a dark stage floor under green lighting. One person lies on their back while the other lies across them, raising one leg upward. Arms and legs intertwine in a tangled body position.
    © Asina Jurca Avci
  • Two persons stand on a stage under green lighting. One person in the foreground holds a garment or quilted fabric and throws a shoe into the air. In the background another person lifts a wig above their head. The stage space is dark.
    © Asina Jurca Avci
  • Two persons move across a stage under blue and violet stage lighting. One person wears a quilted fabric draped around the hips and steps forward with arms extended. Behind them another person holds the same piece of fabric and pulls it.
    © Asina Jurca Avci
  • One person stands on a dark stage wrapped in a large transparent fabric. The fabric falls like a veil over the head and body and spreads across the floor. Warm light illuminates the figure from the side.
    © Asina Jurca Avci