Of the dead, only in a good way...
Death. A sensitive subject for some, redemption for others. It has always been present among us. But the way we look at it is changing. Today, it is perhaps one of the most difficult things to cope with in our country. Yet everyone perceives it differently. Some people find it easier to cope with, and others struggle with it all their lives.
It is said that the dead should only be spoken of in good terms. But what if the person who left us was not a good person? On the contrary. What if he hurt us or did bad things? Should we then, just because he is no longer with us, automatically change our view of him? Are we to make good out of evil?
But the theme of death is not the only one in 20 Den. Julia Fidelus here portrays the relationship between mother and daughter. A relationship that is very fragile, but has a really thick skin on the surface, and is for most of us the first relationship in our lives. The mother shapes and influences us. But what happens if that particular person fails? What if she is not a loving woman who teaches us to love?
It all starts with a bath. A grown woman, a daughter who is in the bathtub. Or underneath it? Even though she's an adult now, she needs a mom, too. She tells us how beautiful her mother was, how she dressed tastefully, how she always knew what to say. But she herself doesn't. She is not like her. She probably doesn't even want to be. It's not physical beauty that matters, after all. That is fleeting and impermanent. It's easy to lose. Unfortunately, beauty of the soul isn't talked about as much.
The puppet representing the mother is an integral part of the production. The actress (Julia Fidelus) creates not only emotional moments with it, but also funny ones. However, the mother is ill and needs constant care because she has cancer. She behaves like a child. Or has she become one again? A serious illness often changes a person. Like old age, when mindsets and mentalities start to become more childlike again.
As the production goes on, we get more and more into the dynamics of their relationship. Mom has made mistakes in her lifetime. Maybe there were too many of them. But who doesn't make them? She didn't express her feelings enough, since it wasn't natural in her generation. Today's generation (of which my daughter is a part) craves the expression of feelings. She wants to hear that she matters, she wants to feel reassured that someone cares.
The actress guides us through the production with the help of situations she has experienced with her mother. At the same time, it is interesting that although the dialogues with her mother through the puppet do not form one coherent story, one does not get lost in it, and things build on each other. This makes the whole thing feel unified and coherent. Through these various situations, we learn what kind of mother she is. And although we don't see a complete psychological portrait, we have a glimpse into the life they led through her daughter.
There was also an interesting shift in the costumes. At first, the daughter is unkempt, in a T-shirt and silk pants, with a sloppy ponytail in her hair. She wasn't like her mom. We see the difference at the end, when she transforms before the audience's eyes into the woman her mother would probably have wanted to see. The shiny pumps, the jacket, the loose hair. She delivers an emotional eulogy at the funeral, for which we, the audience, are the ‘audience’. Outwardly different, but inwardly still the same broken daughter who has succumbed to alcohol and drugs. Not because her mother died, but because it was a complicated relationship. While society expects grief, it is not the ‘as if’ it should be.
20 Den is a production that is packed with a lot of emotion. From laughter to tears. It is an intimate testimony of a daughter in which many will find themselves. Maybe in just one sentence. But those are often more powerful and telling than the whole story. And that is the greatest strength of this production.
