The Woman Decomposed
Performance by Gema Galiana of Studio Matejka
Performance in Spanish and English
The Woman Decomposed
breaks down and builds up again and again.
Built and destroyed without acceptance or rejection, observing herself looking at the mirror of loneliness.
The Woman Decomposed
breaks down and builds up again and again for pleasure, pain, disappointment, rebellion, questions, love and freedom.
The Woman Decomposed
is one thing and at the same time another. She is what we are, what we are not and what we wanted to be – many in one.
The Woman Decomposed
breaks down, broken up again and again, trying to find her part, part of which we are all part, at least in part as part of humanity.
The Woman Decomposed
is a microcosm of a broken world, broken down by its own tragedy, the tragedy of loneliness among the crowd, of contradiction, of dissatisfaction.
The Woman Decomposed
does not flee from herself; instead, she embraces her tragedy and laughs at it until disorientation.
Loneliness is a space for freedom. I am a spectator of the world I inhabit.
I contradict myself by being a part of this world.
I have thousands of souls as you do. I want to free them. I do not want just one. I want all the strange creatures who inhabit me.
I choose loneliness because I choose freedom.
To speak of loneliness, you must be isolated, you have to feel the freedom of being alone.
Solitary among the crowd. The performer alone, among the audience.
There is nothing to hide. I expose my loneliness and my questions to the crowd.
Intending to reveal, attempting to embrace our shared solitude.
Gema Galiana
This performance is inspired by The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa and Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse.
Dream and reality mix; dreaming and acting become one.
My imaginary world was the only world for me. I never had love so real, so full of vigour, blood and life as the figures that I created for myself.
Fernando Pessoa
- CREATED AND PERFORMED BY: Gema Galiana
- DIRECTOR: Matej Matejka
- DRAMATURG: Anthony Nikolchev
- SET AND GRAPHIC DESIGN: La Mujer Tranvia
- MUSIC COLLABORATION: Ditte Berkeley, Daniel Han
Length: 60’
Gema Galiana was born in Spain and studied acting at the Superior School of Dramatic Art in Murcia, where she trained in classical Spanish theatre. She has worked with Julian Herrero, Dora Centenero, Jorge Urrea, Teatro del Aire, Rizoma Teatro and Ferroviaria Ensemble. She is interested in physical theatre – she has completed numerous courses with Isabel Ubeda, Bruce Myers, Gabriel Gawin, Raúl Iaiza, and with OBRA theatre company at Au Brana. She is now part of Studio Matejka. Gema has eight years of experience with Karate Goju-Ryu.
