Ever been really pissed off at somebody you don’t really know, like an infamous warmonger, a child snatcher or maybe a politician? We’ve all been there. You want to crawl into their heart and shake things up a bit, make them see things from your perspective – but what are you going to do? Well, if you’re part of the performance dance duo The Mob, there is one thing you can do: you can take all of your anger and frustration and turn it into a spiteful dance performance topped off with a Sunday roast dinner – that’ll teach ‘em!
Inspired by their deep resentments towards Margaret Thatcher, the two performers, Emma-Cecilia Ajanki and Julia Giertz, have put together a show in which the infamous Iron Lady gets it. Cleverly combining humour, quirky technical features and – of cause – animosity, The Mob invites everybody to a week of extraordinary experiences.
Calling someone a ‘twat’ in the title of your show, and especially a lady of Margaret Thatcher’s standing, does not exactly send signals of well-grounded criticism lurking on the horizon. But the two performers engage sceptics head-on with an apology. “We are really sorry about the title we were just so upset,” they explain, giving hope that the act is more than a juvenile delirium dressed in dance, but stems from a genuine frustration related to the historic realm of UK’s first female PM.
The Mob depict their dislike of Thatcher through a weird voyage of retribution, combining classic methods of anger transfer with cutting edge anger projection technology. In the forms of a faun and a unicorn, the two performers hide deep inside Thatcher’s “empty heart”. From here they use “a two-metre voodoo doll” to try and get the Iron Lady to feel something … anything.
Maggie Is A Twat – The Talk Show runs for a week and during that week the performances are supplemented by a variety of thematic side dishes, designed to give the guests a broader insight into both the supposed horror of the reign of the Iron Lady, and into the artistic intent of The Mob. These include beverages at the premiere (Feb 5), a small lecture (Feb 8) about ‘self-staging and Margaret Thatcher (given by dramaturge Inge Agnete Tarpgaard), an artists’ talk involving the two resentful women (Feb 9), and on the final day of the show (Feb 12), they serve up a traditional British Sunday roast dinner!
“Tradition has it that the British Sunday roast dates back to medieval times when the lord of the manor would treat his peasants to a meal on Sundays as a reward for their work during the week,” promises the press release. “During the poorer periods of the 20th century, the Sunday roast was a luxury and possibly the only time of the week the family would have meat. But a Sunday roast is also a time for family and friends – be it at the pub or at mum’s house. Therefore it’s a pleasure for Emma-Cecilia and Julia to serve a plate of cosiness and togetherness to celebrate a week of voodoo and Margaret Thatcher thrashing.”
So sharpen your forks, ready your smile, unlock that little vault of contempt for former UK leaders, and head on over to Dansehallerne to embark upon the original feast of Maggie is a twat – the talk show.
Maggie is a twat – the talkshow
Lille Carl, Dansehallerne, Pasteurvej 14-24, 1799 Cph V;
Starts Sun, ends Feb 12;
Performances at 20:00 Mon & Wed-Sat, 17:00 Sun;
Tickets 60-130kr; www.dansescenen.dk
