PROJECT

w a t e r w a s w a s s e r allows us to peek into the mindset of theatre-maker Dounia Mahammed. Her ingenious script, which is as elegant as it is profound, explores life’s all-important questions as well as our daily cares and concerns through rhymes and absurd deviations. Pianist Alan Van Rompuy’s improvizations turn the monologue into a lively dialogue. A whimsical, poetic show, w a t e r w a s w a s s e r makes us painfully and joyfully aware of the fluidity of life.

The quadrilingual text is littered with hidden meanings, play on words and absurdities. Mahammed’s gift for language, sound and rhythm makes the banal special and the stale fresh. Her narrative is Socratic: we repeatedly hear the words ‘I don’t know’. For only by viewing language and reality as one big puzzle can she coax us like a charismatic Alice into her wonderland. Great stuff!

De Standaard (*****)