Darn Vanilla Jungle
- Portfolio
- 2018
author:
Philip Ridley
date of production:
2018
Video:
creative team
- Direction, Translation, Adaptation: Evita Ioannou
- Actress: Elena Kallinikou
- Dramaturgy & Artistic Supervision: Fotini Michaelidou
- Co-production: MITOS Performing Arts Centre
- Soundscape: Kassiani Kappelou
- Photography: Nikolas Kasinos
- Graphics: Andonis Moushis
description
Dark Vanilla Jungle is a profound and harrowing one-woman show. In an oppressive fifty-minute monologue, we encounter a life lived through endless days of terror – that of a young woman who becomes a lightning rod upon which all the failures of contemporary society converge.
director's note
Dark Vanilla Jungle is a profound and harrowing one-woman show. In an oppressive fifty-minute monologue, we encounter a life lived through endless days of terror – that of a young woman who becomes a lightning rod upon which all the failures of contemporary society converge.
The primary aim of the play is to draw us into the mind of someone with whom we are reluctant to identify. This is achieved through Philip Ridley’s exceptionally crafted text, the naturalism with which the actress delivers it, and her readiness to approach as closely as possible the heroine’s disturbed psyche.
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The decision to translate the text into the Cypriot dialect and adapt it culturally was crucial. The sheer velocity of the language and the heroine’s courage to embody horror to such an extent leave the audience nowhere to hide – the only possible response is compassion. The character’s earthy complexity and emotional clarity grant Andrea a palpable authenticity that connects her directly and intimately with the audience.
While it is difficult not to be shaken by this almost brutal experience, what disturbs most is not the violence itself but the seductive voice of the one who enacts it. The playwright grants his shattered heroine the gift of poetry – a poetry that searches for patterns in a random world that does not know how to forgive. And precisely when we feel it is too much to bear, the play leaves us with the inescapable thought that somewhere, things like this truly happen.
gallery
- Testimonials
What People Said
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“The directorial approach highlighted with subtlety and strength the deep psychological tension of the work, channeling its contrasts-from bitter humour to harsh reality-and placing the heroine at the centre in ways that made the audience both experience and reflect upon the dramatic depth itself. A meticulous piece of direction by Evita Ioannou that, thankfully, did not strip away Andrea’s jungle.”
Apostolos Kouroupakis
Kathimerini
wRitten for
Dark Vanilla Jungle
“Tonight’s performance of Dark Vanilla Jungle offered a harrowing experience worthy of acclaim. I hardly know how to rank the reasons one must see this production: a translation of rare quality, flowing and natural in the Cypriot dialect; cultural adaptation flawless to the last detail; direction impeccable in movement and lighting. Theatre at its finest.”
Giorgos Floros
Translation Scholar, University of Cyprus
wRitten for
Dark Vanilla Jungle
“The direction-elliptical, minimal, seemingly absent-proves through the final result that it is present in even the smallest detail. Elena Kallinikou is directed by Evita Ioannou with surgical precision, appearing to determine even the unpredictable aspects of the improvisational dialogue with the audience.”
Maria Hamali
Theatre Scholar
wRitten for
Dark Vanilla Jungle