Marionette-ism is a performative happening which took place in a surrealistic-designed bar called Q caffe in Cluj-Napoca.

Three marionettes descend out of nowhere in the middle of a bar full of customers, seeking to discover the human world, longing for the warmth of human feeling. The mechanized creatures curiously study every face they encounter, trying to imitate emotions, thoughts, gestures, in a desperate attempt to humanize their senseless bodies. By mirroring the human expressions, and calling out the reactions of the spectators, the performers create a gestural dialogue that breaks the barriers between their world and the civil one. The  customers are gradually exposed to the interaction with the marionettes, as the performers carefully try to lure them into the universe of their characters. Initially intimidated by the appearance of the marionettes, they give in, step by step, to their game, turning into a participative audience, as the bar becomes the host of an unique theatrical manifestation. Overwhelmed by the newly discovered sensations, the marionettes develop a complex non-verbal drama, loaded with fear, curiosity, joy, desire, love and pain. The story evolves into a fatal love triangle, proving once again how tangled, yet fragile the human nature really is.

Marionett-ism

Directed by Cătălin Bocîrnea
Music production: Men-D
Video editor: Petar Marković
Body painting & make-up: Eva Dolha
Executive producer: Thomas Mendel
Special guest: Celestine Biduda
Performers:
Crina Andriucă
Roxana Fânață
Cătălin Mocan

Location: Qcaffe
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Mendel Collective 2017