feminine octagon [or, aristotle can eat me] 

by Amy Gijsbers van Wijk

Reviews

“In a high-octane 90-minute exhibition of various darkly comedic portraits of modern femininity and sexuality, playwright Amy Gijsbers van Wijk gives us philosophy, Greek mythology, strobes, snakes, camgirls, sign-language, shotgunning beers, karaoke, palmistry, dance and a lot of glitter.

‘feminine octagon [or Aristotle can eat me]’ tackles themes of feminism, patriarchy, capitalism and the ways women, femme and female-identifying people experience them….

With a shapeshifting cast of troubled characters, the play is fast-paced, funny, loud and savage. It’s also unsettling: Van Wijk blatantly acknowledges that at the root of traditional femininity is the threat of harm and seeks to subvert and explore it…….

‘feminine octagon [or Aristotle can eat me]’ is well performed, with great enthusiasm and infective energy, while the momentum leaves little time to dwell on imperfections. ” – Copenhagen Post – Lena Hunter September 16th 2021 

The Plot

A fever dream, an encounter with gods and goddesses, or just an average college party? feminine octagon [or, aristotle can eat me] is a serpentine journey of identity, connection, and the utterly bizarre loneliness of being. 

Directed by

Jessica O’Hara Baker 

“I’m thrilled to be bringing Amy Gijsbers van Wijks’ feminine octagon [or, aristotle can eat me] to life for its world premiere. It is a sumptuous piece of theatre magic, with layers of worlds and gods and serpents and karaoke and keggers. It is also a world where, if the characters only had the freedom to be their authentic selves, they would all exist on a spectrum of queerness and gender non-conformity. feminine octagon asks: What would be possible if we could defy the limitations of being born into this one body we live in? “ – Jessica O’Hara – Baker

CAST

ORPHEUS

Victor Hugo 

 Victor Hugo was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil before moving to Scotland. At 18, he relocated to London to study at the Identity School Of Acting. He landed his first professional acting role in 2018 in Ang Lee’s feature film GEMINI MAN as Junior, (on set reference) AKA the clone of Henry Brogan played by Will Smith. During the 7 months of filming he was also extensively trained in screen combat and weapons handling. Some of Victor’s other credits include Locked Up Abroad (television), Miss Saigon, Sweeney Todd and Les Miserables (Theatre).

DIRT

Tjarli

Tjarli is a Danish-Indian actor who has a background in physical theatre and circus, which they have studied in India. They have several independent projects behind them and is known from queer films; Live, Laugh, Larp, Soft Limits and Noa.

 

Flowers

Liff Solan Thomsen

 

My name is Liff Solan Thomsen and I am a 20 year old drama student. I am half Danish, half Scottish+Irish and born in Aarhus. I moved to Copenhagen to act, and am now in my second semester at Skuespiller akademiet. I started acting for fun in my kindergarten’s plays, and had my first role at Vilhelmsborg Festspil in “The Sound of Music” (Birgitta Von Trap). Other roles include the lead Clara, in the short film “Stand Up For Your Rights” produced by KBH film og foto skole. I have studied drama with actor Jørn Holstein, and singing with coach Laura Leunbach. Today I work as a singing waitress at Teaterkælderen and write my own music which I performed at TedX in Tilst.

MARY SHELLEY

 

Gertrud Magnusson 

I am a trained actor (casting: Glad Teater), multi-artist and creative person as well as sign language teacher. Also has many years of experience with a pedagogue assistant at the school for the deaf and after-school centers as well as student homes. I am p.t. activity employee for the Deaf Association of 1866 in Copenhagen, contact person deafblind, and disability companion for adult deaf +. DDL’s Hotline (mental and well-being). Freelance teaches in workshops i.a. sign language play, body language and drama. I am also a self-taught artist and have exhibited in several places in Denmark and abroad.

Candy, Eurydice

Seren Oroszvary 

Seren Oroszvary is an Australian/Irish/Hungarian actor and performance maker. She has an MA in Contemporary Physical Performance Making from The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (2021), where she trained under international artists such as SITI Company, Tadashi Endo, Complicité, Troubleyn / Jan Fabre, Mart Kangro and Rimini Protokoll. She has a BA in Creative Writing from The University of Melbourne, and in 2018 graduated from Copenhagen Film and Theatre School. Seren has collaborated in several film and theatre productions across the UK, Europe and Australia. She recently performed in ‘Kuhu minek’ 99-hour performance and directed ‘A Body To Dwell’ at the CPPM Manifestal Festival in Tallinn. Performances in Copenhagen include ‘Party Time’ 2019 as Terry and ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ 2018 as Nina.

ALLURE

Michelle Bowman Bak

Michelle Bowman Bak is a Danish/American actor and former ballet dancer. She finished the 3 year acting program at Copenhagen Film and Theatre school in 2020 and has been trained at The Royal Danish Ballet school from 2003-2011. This is her second time performing with Jeremy M. Thomas of HIT  Copenhagen – she previously played Liz in Harold Pinter’s “Party Time” directed by Michael Wighton in 2019. She has performed in several short films, in the latest playing the female lead Yasmina in “Yasid”, and also appeared in a number of commercials for large Danish companies such as Arla, Coop and IDA.  Most recently, she has landed a supporting role in an upcoming Danish tv series, which is currently filming.

PRESS PHOTOS: 

Press photography from Folketeatret by Laura Ioana V