“Save Your Love – Part 1” runs from March 14-17 at Theaterdiscounter.
In the midst of Berlin winter, scenes of a cabin-feverish couple co-existing in the confines of a 35sqm apartment are all too familiar. As the concept of romance diminishes and the reality of love sets in, Save Your Love – Part 1 draws you into its chaotic cartoon world and takes you on what feels like your own personal journey of dreams gone awry.
Returning to Berlin after 2013’s sell-out shows, the play is loosely based on the lives of its multi-award-winning Israeli creators Hila Golan, Niva Dloomy and Ariel Nil Levy. After marrying and moving to Germany, Niva and Ariel struggle with the personalities they have left behind – the political activist, the performer with an infectious spark – in order to become “part of that world”.
“I used to be totally different… I was prettier, I was more ambitious. I used to write every day. I planned to publish my first book at the age of 24. I really believed that through my art I could be the voice of my generation,” Niva proclaims to the audience while a dust-buster intrusively hovers across her feet and chest.
As the performance takes shape, played out in a humorous combination of monologues, musical mimes and collective couples’ therapy, the laughter is often stifled by a sense of sadness. As you witness their mundane existence and crumbling relationship, you’re also reminded of the country and causes they abandoned for the ‘ideal’ life. “We grew up with the feeling we were in a race we have no chance of winning.”
A highlight of the show is artist Adar Aviam’s magical, yet confronting set design, which becomes more comic and absurd as the reality of Niva and Ariel’s situation, their love for each other and the suffocation of the capitalist world they had once dreamed of becomes starker.
SAVE YOUR LOVE – PART 1 March 14-17, 20:00 | Theaterdiscounter, Klosterstr. 44, Mitte, U-Bhf Klosterstr.
Originally published in issue #125, March 2014.
