Pfauen
«When people see a fish, no one thinks to ask if it is male or female. An aquarium is like paradise in that respect. They marvel at you for your beauty, and no one wants to look between your legs.»
Under water we humans have unclear vision. Shapes blur. Physical boundaries dissolve. Everything flows. The same thing happens in drag, the artform that dissolves gender roles with extravagant costumes and makeup, plunges identities in glitter and sequins, and most of all, delivers a breathtaking show. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale exhibits a similar transformation. A mermaid falls in love with someone and wants to get rid of her fishtail. The well-known ending of the story is tragic. Perhaps it reflects Andersen’s own fate: He was in love with his boyhood friend and could never live that love. Indeed it is a tale as old as humanity itself – of nymphs, mermaids, water spirits, of transformation and liberation from ascribed roles.
Instead of looking for the prince’s love on land, director Bastian Kraft, well-established at Schauspielhaus Zürich, seeks happiness in the sea. With ensemble performers and stars from the Swiss drag scene, his new reading of The Little Mermaid dives where biography and fairy tale commingle, where drag and drama blur into a show de sirène.