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| Ursula Fatton and Maxi Blaha in "MARIEDL, Selfies with a Giantess" at the Street Theatre |
Written by
Penny Black – Directed by Angelika Zacek
Costume
design by Julia Klug – Dramaturgy by Verena Humer
Performed by
Maxi Blaha and Ursula Fatton
The Street
Theatre –November 25th and 26th 2023. Reviewed by BILL
STEPHENS.
Fresh from
filming episodes of the German crime series “Tatort” and the film adaption of
Arthur Miller’s “The Performance”, Austro-Australian actor, Maxi Blaha has
returned to The Street Theatre to premiere the English translation of her
latest one-woman show “Mariedl –Selfies with a Giantess”.
Discovered
in a small village in the Tyrol Alps, Maria Fassnauer (Mariedl), a woman
afflicted by Gigantism, was for six years exhibited in theatres across Europe,
at the Brussels World Fair and in the Hippodromes of London and Manchester as the
tallest woman ever seen.
A
fascinating feature of Mariedl’s story is that during her touring she was
courted by a similarly afflicted man from Wagga Wagga, who had dreams of siring
giant children.
Mariedl’s story
however is certainly not tragic. It
appears that she was a shrewd business woman. Although her parents had negotiated
a lucrative contract for her services, insisting that Mariedl be accompanied
throughout her touring by her younger sister, Rosa, Mariedl augmented her
contracted fee with sponsorship deals and hard work which involved standing for
hours posing and selling postcards of herself.
Mariedl was
also aware of the power of publicity. So when Australian giant, Clive Darril
from Wagga Wagga made his infamous marriage proposal in front of the press, Mariedl
suspected that he was probably an opportunist so had little compunction about
turning him down, also making sure there were plenty of press present.
Mariedl
appeared before Royalty and as her fame spread made a huge sum of money which
she gave to her parents and a variety of charities. Deeply religious, Mariedl
had planned to become a nun after she finished touring, but died at the age of
38, before that ambition could be achieved.
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| Maxi Blaha as Mariedl the giant woman of the Tyrol |
In a
beguiling performance, Blaha conjured up Mariedl’s 2.42 metres height by standing
on a raised platform, her lavishly embroidered Tyrolean costume echoing Mariedl’s
insistence on always wearing a traditional peasant costume together with a tall
hat to make her look taller, when being exhibited.
As the
audience entered the theatre, Blaha as Mariedl on exhibition, greeted them with
“Come one, come all, come and see Mariedl, the giant woman of the Tyrol”, each
time repeating her statistics in indication of the monotony of Mariedl’s
existence.
In a clever
twist of ambiguity she invited the audience to take selfies on their
cellphones, and to message in their questions; a reference to Mariedl’s habit
of selling postcards. Each ping of her own phone providing the opportunity to
demonstrate the repetitive, inane and often very personal questions Mariedl had
to endure every day.
Blaha’s superbly
nuanced monologue allowed the audience to sense the loneliness behind Mariedl’s
pride in honouring her commitment despite not being allowed to be seen in
public in order to maintain the curiosity of the public. She encouraged them to
revel in Mariedl's mischievousness when relating her response to Clive Darril’s
courting, her curiosity when describing some of her fellow freaks, and her deep
love of family and nature, both of which she deeply missed while on tour.
Integral to
the success of Blaha’s performance was the superb accompaniment of harpist,
Ursula Fatton, who miraculously conjured up fair grounds, grand ballrooms,
moments of dread and elation to enhance the story-telling, before finally
gilding the one song which provided a perfect ending for the show, a wistful
rendition by Blaha of the Duke Ellington song “In My Solitude”.
Images by Novel Photographic
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
