Xirxalta

A journey of self discovery

Irish Independent

Wednesday, October 8th, 1997.

by Liam Brennan

Running until Saturday, October 11 at the magnificent Bank of Ireland Arts Centre in Foster Place is Xirxalta.  A fine piece of physical theatre by the German multicultural company Thevomfume from Nuremburg and directed by John Hudson from New Zealand.

The story of a young man who comes of age in a society of women and is subsequently banished into the wider world because of his very manhood.  Naive Xirxalta meets with a lively cross section of humanity, both male and female who try to teach him who he really is.

Finding out that he's a man takes time, and during the process a range of characters implant ideas of identity that he has to either shed or readjust to.

Warmly played by Uwe Weber, Alexandra Bauer, and Klaus Maier, who penned the play, there's a strong sense of ceremony in this almost sacramental presentation, with diverse influences evident from Africa to Japan, strangely familiar ritual from the primitive to the sublime, coupled with some clever stagecraft and excellent sound.