Kaya Korabiowska-Dean

The Mermaid Manifesto

a study on women & water

In The Mermaid Manifesto, the audience is invited into a watery world, where eight mermaids attempt to turn themselves in human women.
Through a series of embodied acts and transformation rituals – ranging from a medical surgery on a Barbie, a period ritual with chocolate blood, a human water fountain and childbirth – the performers and the audience explore what it means to be a young woman today.

The project was initiated by Kaya and developed together with a crew of all-women-identifying dancers, movers and theatre artists. The material is based around the makers’ personal experiences, as well as the classic fairytale The Little Mermaid, and the philosophical concept hydrofeminism.
How can an awareness of water and fluidity help us better understand the relationship between our bodies and our sense of self? What can the little mermaid, who trades her fish tail and voice for human legs, teach us about authenticity and self-construction? And what do these questions mean in a theatre-context, where all attempts at self-expression are ultimately centered around the romantic gaze of the audience?