Welcome back to our Offbeat Spotlight series. Over the next few days we're highlighting all the strange and wonderful things that the Offbeat Festival has to offer. The Offbeat Festival runs from the 9th-15th of September, and is a collaboration between The Old Fire Station, Oxford Playhouse, New Theatre and Gloucester Green Market. In addition to a multitude of shows, there are also workshops, and exhibition, late night events including a poetry slam, comedy scratch night, and listening party, and more.
Here, we talk with Gabriela Flarys, the performer and creative behind Deluge, a humorous and moving piece that uses movement, text, comedy, true stories, fiction, and live music to explore the grieving process. Read on for more about the show and the inspirations behind it.
Daily Information: Hello Gabriela, thank you for taking the time to talk with us. How would you describe Deluge to someone unfamiliar with the piece?
Gabriela Flarys: It is a magical realistic ‘dramedy’ (with lots of humor) that follows a woman navigating a flood-threatened home in the aftermath of a breakup. She brings up real-life stories of other people to make sense of her own experience. The show combines movement with text, comedy, drama, live music and projections. It explores diverse responses to loss beyond human death by encompassing grief to the loss of pets, belongings, organs and relationships.
DI: Your show tackles the complexity of grief through a blend of theatre, live music, movement and text. What inspired you to employ so many different mediums in this piece?
GF: This fusion helps capture the non-linear experience of grief, as it can be a roller coaster full of highs and lows. Some people say: “it comes in waves.” These different mediums add different rhythms and moments to the show. It transitions between comedic and heartfelt scenes, through a dynamic physicality, and suspended moments of live piano alongside video projections.
DI: What have your previous performances looked like? Would you say this is more of a departure or a continuation from your previous creative work?
GF: Deluge is a continuation of my creative research and previous shows. This is my third collaboration with Andrea Maciel (director and co-dramaturg), and my second one-woman show,
exploring the interplay between movement and text.
Also, like in the previous show, There She Is, I depart from interviews to create the story, writing a script which blends real stories with fiction within a magical realistic set. In There She Is, there was a whale stranded on the London underground, disrupting all services and pushing the main character to embark on a surreal journey of displacement and rebirth. In
Deluge, there is a woman living in a house full of leaks and on the verge of flooding. In
both shows, I use metaphors to mirror inner emotions and process.
DI: After Offbeat, what's next for you?
GF: I am planning a UK and international tour with Deluge. Follow our Instagram to stay in the loop!
DI: Finally, please describe Deluge in three words.
GF: Magical realistic comedy
Deluge is on at the Old Fire Staion, on Thu 12th Sep, 8pm. For more info and to book tickets, click here.