Be My Guest

SoHo Playhouse, New York City

The work begins from an autobiographical dimension, talks about failure, success and the condition of the artist in our society. At the doorstep, in the stalls, waiting for the arrival of her guests, we meet the charming and shameless Nina Divina, the hostess maitresse of the show. Using her sophisticated and unpredictable sense of humour encourages the audience to enter in the shared and participative atmosphere of the show.

Now, there on the stage, the arrival of all the other guests, the pushes of the creation inside the author that materialise themselves in six different roles or masks; each with their own physicality, voice, gestures, motivations and contents.

The Tragic Actress, deeply connected with the Muses of Greek Theatre, searching endlessly for tragic catharsis, dying multiple times in the most dramatic ways. Venus that needs to be loved desperately by the audience and has to seduce them to make sure they do. The Artist who wants to make art that is universal and relevant but sometimes she takes herself too seriously. Then we meet SheLion, a wild and untamed creature that is there to empower the inner beasts inside each audience member and helps them to reconnect with their instinctual nature. In a private little corner there is Me, a naive creature who wants to tell the story of the author with all the struggle to work in the theatre system, the difficulties to make money, to be an artist mum and to be just one human and fragile person.

Inside this absurd and meta-theatrical situation, where the fourth wall is knocked down and rebuilt several times, this tourbillon of characters and archetypes let us enter in the story and in the world of the author. The author, never seen but behind everything, using the weaknesses, and vulnerabilities of the characters will tell the story and will perform a cathartic ritual, with and in front, of the audience.

The audience, also full of guests and always involved since nothing is private, plays, takes part in the process, creates and changes, their presence is a fundamental component of the show. They’re progressively more and more involved in this absurd meta-theatrical adventure that ends in a cathartic and shared collective ritual.

Run Time in Minutes

60 minutes

Age Recommendation for your audience

+12