How To Eat an Orange
Written by Catherine Filloux, Directed by Elena Araoz
Downstairs Theater at La MaMa at 66 East 4th Street, NYC
May 30 - June 16 at La MaMa
‘How To Eat an Orange’ by Catherine Filloux is an intimate, soaring one-woman show that showcases an entirely different perspective of those who endured the military junta in Buenos Aires. So many disappeared - but who is there when their bodies reappear?
Paula Pizzi plays Claudia Berndardi - an artist who joined the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EEAF). Bernardi became their map maker in exhumations of massacres in Guatemala, Ethiopia and El Salvador.
The show spends its 80 minutes going back and forth from stories of childlike joy and wonder, to harrowing details of the inexplicable oppression civilians endured during Argentina’s ‘Dirty War.’ And yet, despite some of these stories taking place over 40 years ago, there is an urgency in Bernardi’s words - and in the way Filloux pieces them together. The result not only makes the audience feel a closeness to Bernardi’s character, but also always ‘on-edge’ in a sense, awaiting when and where the next moment will take place.
The Downstairs at LaMama was a beautiful space for the show to call home - going underground, entering a room where the walls are made of brick - only added to the sense of secrecy, yet vulnerability that the piece was bursting with. The set was simple, and transformed constantly with the incredible projection and lighting design through the piece. The imagery of a ‘blister,’ full of so many people and experiences that could never come to light, was brought to life by the tense, immersive sound throughout.
No matter what Bernardi’s observations were about, the clear through-line that connected these stories : her sister, Patricia. The love that was clear between the two of them (despite only one of them ever being on stage) was what grounded us as the audience, and provided the strongest foundation to tell this story.
Watching this show was an incredibly moving experience - and evoked many more emotions than I even expected going in. While weaving stories of pain into the piece was extremely powerful, the inherent partnership between Claudia and Patricia was what I found to be the anchor of the show. Love is what allows Claudia to tell her story - and love is what allows us to listen.
Click HERE for tickets. Photos by Steven Pisano.
Review by Niranjani Reddi.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on June 4th, 2024. All rights reserved.