Back to Square One? is storytelling at its best. Anders lives in Auckland, and his grandmother lives on the other side of the world. When the pandemic struck, Anders suddenly had time on his hands, and found himself talking more and more with Inga. Through his chats to Inga, Anders remembers the times he spent with her as a teenager – the board games, the liquorish, and the stories of Danish mythology.
In the play, Anders uses chalk to draw Inga’s loungeroom on the floor, and invites you to hear about Inga’s day-to-day routine. He recounts Inga’s favourite tales of the Norse gods Odin and Thor, as well as the massive tree Yggdrasil, that stands in the middle of the world, stretching its branches over the nine realms.
These stories are analogies for the connections we have with family and friends around the world, and how, in a time of isolation, many of us had time to reconnect with loved ones in distant lands.
“During the first lockdown the physical world suddenly got very small while we, in a weird way, also had a global shared experience with people in faraway countries,” says Anders. “For me, I experienced time in a different way. I had time to be with my family, time to get to know my neighbours and time to talk to my grandmother. For a brief time, family and community took priority in a way they hadn’t done before.”
Back to Square One? uses a gentle humour to bring things into perspective. Together, Anders and Inga (and a Viking God) set the world back into balance, and highlight the things that are the most important. Sometimes, you have to admit that old ladies really do know what’s best.
DETAILS:
ODT Dunedin Arts Festival, Te Whare o Rukutia, 20 Princes Street, Dunedin. Tues 18 & Wed 19 Oct at 7pm.
https://dunedinartsfestival.co.nz/event-calendar/theatre/back-to-square-one
