Narobov ensemble

Under water is a project by Alenka Marinič and Maja Dekleva Lapajne. They collaborated many times in the past, and are also good friends. But there is another thing they have in common: the position of middle-aged creative professionals, old enough to have experienced the social benefits of the past, but too old to be labelled as promising “young authors”. Both are moms, self-employed in culture, precarious workers, members of a dying middle class, women. Thematically, the project is inspired by their own lives and their understanding of the current social situation. It is therefore a markedly personal project in which the personal aspect is transformed by various artistic methods into a more universal theatrical-musical event. Under water is a hybrid of concert and theatre, which on the one hand concentrates on the experiences of repression, precariousness and neoliberal relations, while on the other hand it seeks new ground – where different relationships can still exist. Through genuine humour, it attempts to give answers to questions of where we are and where we can seek refuge.

Maja Dekleva Lapajne and Alenka Marinič are long-time colleagues working under the Narobov collective. When on stage, they emphasize improvisation, clown tricks and physical theatre. However this time, they decided to express themselves through music. There were two reasons for this – a methodological one and a substantive one. In terms of methodology, music enabled the performers to step away from personal emotions and transform them into stage action, which nonetheless retained their emotional drive and liveliness. Substantively speaking, the performers are not professional musicians and were therefore quite limited in terms of skills and knowledge, which caused them to struggle and try to find new ways of expressing their art. So the question really is – how can we function inside very harsh limitation of both the show and the current social situation.

Authors and performers: Maja Dekleva Lapajne, Alenka Marinič
Costumes and assistance in scenery design: Katarina Zalar
Stage movement adviser: Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik
Photography: Špela Škulj
Production: Družina umetnosti Narobov

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Cirkovision / Hosting of the CirkoБalkana circus tent is a project by Zavod Bufeto, Ana Monro Theatre, Mismo Nismo collective and Cirkokrog association.