HOT WALK: Why a body’s menopause resembles Earth’s

When the body heats up

What if global warming goes through its own menopause? That is the intriguing thought with which HOT WALK begins. Levi: “My body is warming up, just like the earth. That intensity connects them.” From her own experience of menopause, with hot flushes, mood swings and fatigue, a poetic and physical exploration of transformation, restlessness and vulnerability emerged.

The performance is set in an artificial park landscape on stage, where two performers in a seemingly mundane conversation find themselves in a world that slowly begins to shift. Dance and images gradually take the place of words: walking turns into swaying, speaking becomes singing. Thus an associative journey unfolds in which bodies, landscape and sound merge.

Between shame and humour

Levi draws inspiration, among others, from Eve Ensler’s In the Body of the World, a book that intertwines personal experiences of illness and trauma with global stories of ecological and social devastation. In this book, Ensler also writes about her collaboration with Dr Denis Mukwege, who treats women victims of sexual violence in Congo. “Both the female body and the earth undergo violence and change. That connection touches me,” says Levi.

Yet HOT WALK is not just heavy. Levi likes to work with contrasts. Dry humour, spontaneous conversations and playful images stand alongside confrontational themes such as shame, anger and loss. The audience is not only touched, but also challenged to look with an open mind.

A shared space for reflection

Although the starting point is personal, the experience is universal. Levi believes theatre is pre-eminently a place to face the tensions of our time. ‘We go to theatre to meet our demons, just like people used to go to churches,’ she says.

With HOT WALK, she invites the audience to move with her through a landscape that feels at once familiar and alienating. A performance for anyone who wants to reflect on change, on the body, on the world, and on the wonderful ways the two are intertwined.

HOT WALK can be seen on 25 May at 15:00 and 19:00 at Theater Kikker. Tickets: €16-€19 via www.springutrecht.nl.