Oemoemenoe: Daniel(le) Vorthuys

On November 22, at 3pm Vleeshal presented the work of Daniel(le) Vorthuys in Zeeland as part of Oemoemenoe at hair salon Wolter Vos in Middelburg. For this occasion, Vorthuys developed a performance centered around the fairytale Rapunzel — a story about good girls, wicked witches, wrong choices, desires, and what happens when you finally let your hair down. In Vorthuys’ version, Rapunzel is not just a fairytale figure, but a contemporary character who reveals how old ideas about chastity and beauty continue to shape us today -  and how these persistent notions can be reimagined and transformed.

The performance was based on a script written by Vorthuys in a layered mix of Dutch, English, Latin, Gaelic, German, and Japanese. As Rapunzel, she engaged in a dialogue with an animation that represents her own subconscious -  a muscular, untamed creature that appears whenever it pleases. Through a complete transformation of herself -  through clothing, hairstyle, and makeup -  Vorthuys brought Rapunzel to life in a new context, using the fairytale as a framework to explore how stories change when they are retold, and how imagination can help us grasp who we are, and who we wish to be.