Review by Kate Gaul
Down The Rabbit Hole theatre company creates work in Denmark with prominent and boundary-breaking international artists. The company is led by Artistic Director Jeremy M. Thomas-Bøgsted and focuses on creating strong visual expressions that explore and experiment with form and seek to create surprising and engaging experiences for the audience. “The Disappeared” is a burlesque cabaret that tells the true story of a queer Latinx voice robbed of their freedom and forced into exile during a government coup in South America. “The Disappeared” stars Nova Duh, a mega star in the clubs of London and Berlin. The performance celebrates the artistic voices that are different, those that are loud and ever-present in political protest and are a threat to political power. Voices that are quickly suppressed and disappeared by authoritarian states, but never forgotten.
Imagining we are in a small town in South America, queer cabaret performer Nova, accompanied by live music played and programmed by assistant Josh, we traverse everything from ballroom, dance, spoken word, song and story. Where Nova is from in South AMerica there is no recognition that queer people exist. Bars open and then … disappear.
Although performed in the large Demonstration Room at Summer Hall, Nova creates an intimate atmosphere for audiences who stand to watch the show, moving around the space as it evolves. Rituals are performed. Nova strips naked. The audience joins in singing about a hard fuck. Nova speaks to the non-binary body. Nova tells us the enjoy erotic story telling. We become children in a school yard. We join a protest banging on tin cans. We hear of the hardship of isolation during COVID. We discover that the only way to cure isolation is to party!
“When I’m on stage I mix burlesque with themes about machismo, transfeminism, gender violence and sexuality. I represent through my tales my vision and experience as a Latino queer. Basically, I undress against patriarchy and the injustice it has caused in our societies.” – Nova Duh
The performance is in 3 sections and starts with a tribute to Latin cabaret and queer burlesque and ends with the hate crimes Nova experienced in San Cristobal Mexico. We travel through the history of Nova’s life - back to the beginning to find the roots of their passion for protest. And finally we relive, together with Nova, the night in Chile when the police broke into the nightclub and arrested everyone. Nova was threatened and forced them to flee for survival.
A ballroom style performance is given with appropriately flowing costumes, fans, the strut and attitude. The audience votes for the performance and Nova wins a gold cup. Nova holds the room with confidence and style. But we never once forget the hardship and pain of living under oppressive regimes and if anything, the show is a plea for change – especially in these increasingly conservative times.
“The Disappeared” is an entirely unique event. It challenges our notions of theatre but not performance. Artistically eclectic, socially purposeful this is an electric event that transports and heals audiences across its 80 minutes.
Image Supplied