“MAMA”, by Mafalda Deville, interpreted by Elisabeth Lambeck and Mafalda Deville, Palcos Instáveis
On the scene, a character for two interpreters who are invoking memories, fears and insecurities, in deaf dialogue to each other. Interior and exterior, fall and jump, private and public, all wrapped in lullaby. On the scene two bodies that don’t get enough of trying. Two bodies that know that sometimes you have to re-learn to live, and until you re-learn to breath.
“In this residence I started an investigation into the emotional and social conflicts of juvenile motherhood. I had, as a starting point, my case and I went to meet young women who find themselves managing the situation of being pregnant or having been mothers recently. In common, in the initiated interview process, the physiological state — pre- or postpartum — and a devastating emotional and social precarity. It was my intention to call for the creation of this work interpreters that had been mothers, so they could also share their experience. In collaboration with Israel Pimenta, and undressed from rigid, conceptual or formal structures, we privileged a frank opening to the pieces of life that were shared with us. We chose to work with only Elisabeth Lambeck, in an accomplice process, of who knows that only with delicate hands you can touch something so fragile. During this stage, here presented,, we ended up exploring the temporal range between the discovery of being pregnant and the birth of the child. Long months of deep physical transformation, revolted in a whirlwind of events and emotions. The first time we emerged from diving into these interviews, we decided to work with precarious, unstable, fragile and volatile materials, in both the set design and choreographic research” (Mafalda Deville)
Mafalda Deville
Mother, wife, wife and artist with over 20 years of performance experience. Creative for as long as she remembers, this led to becoming a choreographer. Constant curiosity for feminist affairs, which have become a continuous research, led her to work with different community groups as part of her research process.
Now, her interest is in how her artistic work can be activist. In how artistic performances in the public sphere and on the stage, linked to the feminist revolution, can help understand the journey that needs to continue to be made by questioning and challenging spaces where activism events should and can happen.
This interest is invested through collaborations and co-creations with different artists in Dance and different artistic disciplines with diverse research.
Throughout her career as a performer/creator has worked with the likes of Jasmin Vardimon Company, Nuno Cardoso, Tiago Rodrigues – O mundo perfeito, Sadlers Wells Theater, Companhia Instável, Helder Seabra, among others.
Master in Choreography from Fontys University and Codarts University in the Netherlands in 2021. A graduate of the London Contemporary School of The Place in 1997. Founder and artistic director of the Zero workshop based in Porto.
Dance, M/12 – 70 min
Next presentations:
Oct 12 / Casa da Cultura Teatro Stephens, Marinha Grande
Previous presentations:
May 26, 2024 / Casa da Criatividade de São João da Madeira
Oct 28, 2023 / Teatro Ribeiro Conceição, Lamego
Sep 29, 2023 / Teatro-Cine Torres Vedras
Mar 24, 2023 / Teatro Municipal de Vila Real
Oct 20, 2022 / Cineteatro Alba, Albergaria-a-Velha
Direction and choreography: Mafalda Deville
Cenography and dramaturgy: Israel Pimenta
Light design: Diogo Barbedo
Interpreted and created by: Elisabeth Lambeck and Mafalda Deville
Music: Ravel, Chopin, Louis Spohr, Claude Debussy, PJ Harvey, Johnny Greenwood
Costumes: Mafalda Deville
Coproduction: Instável – Centro Coreográfico and Teatro Municipal do Porto
Special thanks: Instituição Irmãs do Bom Pastor, Eduardo Leitão, Joana Neves