Banana and Oyster Knife
A museum built of cardboard rises from the stage, and on display are all the things that humanity produces: anything from toilet brushes to jars of peanut butter and from soldiers helmets to fragments of human bones. Three performers are making frantic efforts to categorise and group objects from this huge mound of stuff. In the process they create fascinating still lives, discover what connects cauliflowers, skulls and bath sponges, squeeze poetry from a Toilet Duck bottle, and arrange a meeting between a balloon and a cactus. Their dizzying quest for ever more group sculptures leads them to the discovery of the wild, swirling source of human intelligence and creativity.
"In Banana and Oyster Knife everything happens on a scale of one to one, with a preference for light horror and wacky humor. This performance offers cheerful image theatre for designers and other viewers." (Theaterkrant)
"In a minimalist decor in which cardboard boxes serve as pedestal, the three members of Hotel Modern associatively group all kinds of stuff on color, shape and meaning, thereby creating witty and sometimes poetic stories. Effortlessly everyday objects transform into art. When one performer chooses a cauliflower, the next one comes with a tennis ball and the last one adds a bread roll. In a series of cheerful and sometimes wistful images a range of human creations is exhibited, from a stuffed baby deer to a bottle of Toilet Duck. Together they form a beautiful, graceful ode to human striving." (Volkskrant)
"Banana and Oyster Knife possesses the theater group's alienating style and humor. A stream of images, association upon association, is played out as a competition in creativity in which the performers try to outdo each other time and again." (NRC Handelsblad)
"Hotel Modern could have easily relied on their success formula. The choice to not meet expectations and choose another path shows great courge. Banana and Oyster Knife offers an experiment that many theater companies no longer deem necessary or dare to make. For that reason alone, this performance is worth the visit." (8Weekly)
Credits
Concept, stage design and cast members Pauline Kalker, Herman Helle, Arlène Hoornweg Assistant Maartje van den Brink Technician André Goos Assistant technician Joost ten Hagen Poster image and illustrations Harriet van Reek Graphic design Sibe Kokke Photography Bas Czerwinski Subsidy Performing Arts Fund NL, City of Rotterdam
