Elena Penga, In my dreams I am a wolf
A wolf that roams free and happy in green landscapes haunts the dreams of a woman, and finally she decides to look for him in real life. Her quest follows the stages of a ritualistic initiation: cutting herself off from her previous life, wandering, encountering persons in the roles of initiators or good fairies, disguising herself with the aid of magical objects, meeting the “wolf” and going into the double life of an animated super heroine. Archetypal symbols and pop-culture elements, motifs from fairytales and thriller films make up the action. However, the plot of the play is in contrast with its multi-prism postmodern aesthetic, dominated by the approach to space from the viewpoint of the writer, the architect or the visual artist. The debate around the possible places of happiness permeates the actions and tests the concept of space in many ways: nature as a lost paradise, buildings as spaces of meeting and communication, the human body and the artwork as landscapes, language itself as a locus of meta-linguistic function and textuality.
WOMAN: How do we define an adventurous man, and how an adventurous woman?
STUDENT 4: An adventurous man is probably a Ulysses who will not take root, will not commit himself but keeps travelling.
WOMAN: And an adventurous woman?
FEMALE STUDENT 5: She is probably one with an adventurous love life.
STUDENT 6: Meaning?
STUDENT 3: A lot of men?
STUDENT 5: A lot of men, women, erotic variety and adventure.
STUDENT 4: Or she may be a Siren.
WOMAN: A Siren?
STUDENT 4: Yes.
STUDENT 3: What’s a Siren? A mermaid?
STUDENT 4: They are mythical beings with alluring voices, associated with water, love and death. They are multisolitary. They use their exquisite voice to lure men to come to them and they destroy them.
STUDENT 3: Are there Sirens today?
STUDENT 4: Yes, as long there is the archetype of Ulysses and the idol of Don Juan.
WOMAN: Wouldn’t it be a good idea today if Gregor Samsa, the hero in Kafka’s Metamorphosis, wakes up in the morning to go to work and finds himself transformed not into an insect but a Siren? George (STUDENT 6) will write this play.
STUDENT 6: I take it that John (STUDENT 4) is into Sirens. Would he like to write it instead?
STUDENT 4: Indeed, I think that George (STUDENT 6) is writing another play.
WOMAN: Really?
STUDENT 4: Yes. (Challenging STUDENT 6.) He is writing about a woman who, despite leading a normal life with a husband, children, parents and a career, every night she dreams she is a wolf. A wild wolf in a lush forest, roaming happy on his own amidst nature. Now and then he meets other wolves and joins them. These wonderful dreams stir the woman, who gradually sees her daily life becoming unbearable, until one day—
STUDENT 6: One day…?
STUDENT 4: She gives up her normal life—
WOMAN: And…?
STUDENT 4: It’s not me who’s writing they play.
WOMAN: You, then… What happens?
STUDENT 6: I haven’t finished it yet.
(The WOMAN looks at him thoughtfully.)
Director: Maritina Passari
Scenography: Vassilis Kottaras
Music: Stathis Ioannou
Actors: Dimitris Antoniou, Dimitris Koutrouvideas, Louiza Kostoula, Panagiotis Larkou, Yorgos Makris, Lena Papaligoura, Alkistis Poulopoulou, Miltos Sotiriadis, Yorgos Tsourmas, Maria Houhou