INTERVIEW: Clarice Lispector inspires new immersive theatrical work
Photo: The cast of Inside the Wild Heart performs at Aich Studios. Photo courtesy of Alexandre Maciel and Miguel de Oliveira / Provided by Michelle Tabnick PR with permission.
Clarice Lispector, the Jewish writer who spent much of her life in Brazil, is the subject of the new immersive theatrical experience known as Inside the Wild Heart, currently being presented by Group.BR at Aich Studios on Manhattan’s East Side. Conceived by Group.BR’s founders Andressa Furletti and Debora Balardini, the play is based on Lispector’s actual writings, plots and characters.
The show, directed by Linda Wise, had a successful run in 2016, and the updated version continues through Nov. 18 at Aich Studios, which is a multilevel brownstone. In the play, the interesting location serves as both Lispector’s home and her inner mind. Much like the format of Sleep No More, this show welcomes patrons to follow different characters and plot points, with no set way to experience the narrative.
Lispector is viewed as one of the most important Jewish writers of the 20th century. She is heralded throughout the world, especially in Brazil, for her stream-of-consciousness style of writing.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Furletti about the new show. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can the audience expect from Inside the Wild Heart?
A unique and individual and sensorial experience. Eleven journeys happen at the same time, so the audience has to choose their own journey. They constantly have to choose whom to follow, how long they stay in each room and if they want to be active participants, therefore reminded of the first question of the play, ‘If you were you, how would you be, and what would you do?’ The audience can also expect to experience literature on an intimate and sensorial level, and may leave the play with a deep curiosity about the works of Clarice Lispector and about themselves.
What do you like most about the work of Clarice Lispector?
I like its freedom, wit, depth and authenticity. She has such a unique voice that led her to say she was not a writer ‘to keep her freedom,’ this way she could free herself from grammatical and literature rules and find her own way. I also like how it flows just like the mind flows, its crafted punctuation work that dictate the breath and division of thoughts with commas. She even dares, in the book An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures, start the book with a comma and end with a colon. I also like how intimate it feels. She deals with subjects that are so deep in us that feels like telling a well-hidden secret.
What’s it like working with co-founder Debora Balardini?
It’s like walking, holding a strong hand towards the same direction. It’s like being respected, loved, inspired, strong. It’s an honor to be the partner of a woman so full of talent, passion, determination, sensibility and integrity.
Why have audiences become so enamored of immersive theatrical experiences?
I can speak for myself, as one of the enamored of immersive theater. I like the intimacy and sense of complicity between audience members and between audience and performers. The sensorial possibilities also fascinate me, especially sense of touch, smells and the possibility of taste like in Inside the Wild Heart. I also like how it can offer different experiences to the same group of people.
How has the show changed since its initial run?
It has the same concept, but it’s a very different show. This one has 11 journeys, each one representing a recurrent theme in Clarice Lispector’s writings and played by one performer. Each journey develops by the transformation from one character to another in the quest for an answer for the questions of each theme. The current production is more intimate and fulfills the original desire of having the show happening in an actual house.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Inside the Wild Heart continues at Aich Studios in New York City through Nov. 18. Click here for more information and tickets.
