In this play about pairs (the football players and the “player’s wives”) by pairs (conceived by Lena Brasch and Sina Martens, written by Laura Dabelstein and Leo Meier and performed by Martens and Gabriel Schneider), the central pairing proves to be more sport and theatre than sport and patriarchy.
In Brasch and Martens’ previous work of pop culture collage, It’s Britney, Bitch!, they located the mythic dimensions of the trials of Britney Spears, unearthing a tragic archetype in her struggles with her father. Spielerfrauen doesn’t quite plumb the same pathos as their first, but this collage of monologues and dialogues humorously highlights the gender imbalances as well as unjust power relations involved in the many relationships surrounding football.
From the homoerotic parasociality that male fans form with their beloved players to a kind of speculative fiction about football’s origins as a world-changing phenomenon dreamed up by Oppenheimer at Los Alamos, these texts are playful, entertaining and occasionally enlightening – if, at times, a little broad. While it doesn’t deliver profound epiphany or some unique social critique, the undeniable energy and brio of Schneider and Martens means that this is a supremely entertaining evening of theatre.
By the end, as they change clothing and shapeshift into a final tableau featuring Victoria Beckham, arguably the world’s most famous Spielerfrau, you’ll be cheering them on like your favourite football team. ★★★★
- Berliner Ensemble, Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1, Mitte, Oct 12, 18, German with English surtitles, details.
