mother octopus

mother octopus

Our first experience of a relationship is with our biological mother. None shapes us as profoundly as this one: we grow within her womb; she is the one who nourishes us. We are one, protected from the world, which so far only reaches us in muffled tones. Until the abrupt end of our peaceful idyll, the first trauma of our lives, the first act of (maternal?) violence. And with that, happy birthday: we are cast out, squeezed out, and pushed into the glaring, cold reality. No longer shielded from the hands that grasp at us.

In mother octopus, two queer performers explore their relationships with their mothers by approaching them through drag. They confront the traumas caused by gender-stereotyped upbringing in an autobiographical manner. In a performative dialogue about parenthood, they draft a queer-positive family model that invites parents and children, mothers and queers into an intergenerational exchange. Mother octopus approaches motherhood from a queer feminist perspective, where motherhood has no gender, and asks: how can mothers and queers be allies in the fight against patriarchy?

Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg (Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg) and the Hamburg Cultural Foundation (Hamburgische Kulturstiftung).

Artistic direction, Concept, Performance: Maciek Martios
Artistic direction, Concept, Dramaturgy: Amelie Werner
Concept, Performance: Marco Merenda
Stage Couture: Simone Ballüer und Manuel Funk
Sound design: Candid Rütter

Premiere: Hamburger Sprechwerk 29.11.2024