THE WORK-STAY: Rome

Trà Nguyễn and Theo Eshetu in Rome, Italy

In October, Vietnamese theatermaker Trà Nguyễn traveled to meet her mentor, Theo Eshetu—who lives between Rome and Berlin—for a work-stay in the Italian capital.

Nguyễn is working with a self-developed a method, Verbatim Bodies, which explores one performer's potential to express a multitude of narrative possibilities.

Employing slowness and the stretching of time in her performances, Nguyễn's short play Mother doesn’t know Mnemosyne evokes the Greek mythological figure Mnemosyne—or memory, the mother of the nine muses—to narrate the complex relations between female figures of differing histories as well as her own relationship with her mother. 

At German Academy Rome Villa Massimo, Nguyễn and Eshetu shared insights into the work-in-progress with a local audience. 

The work-stay took place in partnership with the German Academy Rome Villa Massimo