A deconstructed performance on the Divine Feminine that frees the archetypical Mother Energy from her Holy Mary corset.

MISSA MAMA NOVA is a deconstructed performance with dance and vocals about femininity. A dancer (a Mother's body) writhes in and out of the sacred cliché and normative prison of the Woman-as-Mother. A duo of singers swarms around her and sings itself in and out of a classical song idiom. In the absence of the Father, they deconstruct the patriarchal heritage of the Christian liturgy and search for their adult voice. A flautist on the sidelines (a Mother’s breath) breathes and controls the polyphonic body of performers. Together the ensemble breaks open the silent grief of the holy Mother Mary and transforms it into a celebration of the feminine in every one of us. 

“The beautiful compositions form the backbone of the performance. Tembuyser knows how to create an overwhelming emotional resonance”

theaterkrant

“The performers move behind the chairs, mumbling, speaking, almost singing. Flutist Dodó Kis lets breath flow from her instrument. A streak of light creeps through the darkness across the floor to her feet. A little further into the darkness, dancer Fumiyo Ikeda puts her hands into the beam of light, trembling, grasping. The rushing breath, fingers, and the smoky darkness around us seem like a variation on the creation story, but with goddesses instead of one single god.”

Fransien van der Putt, Theaterkrant - 25/03/2024

Credits