Theatre
My theatre work explores psychological and philosophical themes through intimate, character-driven narratives. Rather than focusing on external events, the plays examine the stories people construct about themselves and others, and the tension between perception, memory and truth.
At the heart of these works lies a recurring fascination with identity, self-perception and the often fragile relationship between reality and the narratives through which we understand our lives.
The plays presented here are Waarheid (Truth) and Ave Maria, two works that approach these themes from different perspectives while sharing a common interest in the complexity of human experience.
Waarheid (Truth)
When an acclaimed actress meets a young writer determined to write about their relationship, an encounter that begins with curiosity gradually develops into a confrontation with truth, vulnerability and self-deception.
As the boundaries between observation and participation begin to blur, both women are forced to confront the stories they tell themselves about love, identity and authenticity. What starts as a conversation becomes an exploration of recognition, fear and the difficult process of allowing oneself to be truly seen.
At its core, Waarheid examines the tension between the roles we perform and the people we are beneath them, asking whether genuine connection is possible without first confronting our own illusions.
SELECTED EXCERPT:
JOYCE
What are you afraid of?
OLGA
(TURNING TO JOYCE) What am I afraid of? You! What you’re asking of me. What you’re unleashing in me! That’s what I’m afraid of…
SPOT ON JOYCE.
(CONTINUES) But I didn’t say that. I said nothing. I remained silent. The silence of pride. To think you have every right to turn away from what is true.
How is it possible that someone you’ve only known for a few hours can be so… Apparently, it can. If you’re in the right place at the right time and say the right thing, it can happen. Something that starts out insignificant suddenly becomes huge and compelling, and before you know it… you’re suddenly a different person. Before you know it. It’s happened. But you only realize that later…
She tried to persuade me. To show me what she saw. And I remained silent. So she left…
SPOT ON JOYCE.
JOYCE
I shouldn’t have come…
OLGA
Maybe not.
SPOT ON JOYCE.
OLGA
“I’m sorry.” That’s what I should have told her. (YELLS AGAIN TOWARDS JOYCE) I’m sorry! That I choose silence over speaking. That I simply can’t. That I don’t dare…
You know, love—that elusive phenomenon that has captivated humanity since the beginning of time…, that “THE” for love implies something that’s not true. There is no such thing as “THE” love. Love, it exists. In thousands of manifestations, in millions of shapes, sometimes paltry, sometimes disgusting, sometimes towering, sometimes brilliant, sometimes lasting 10 minutes, sometimes lifelong. Sometimes unconditional.
That’s what we had there, in that moment: love. However inexplicable, however absurd. Love. Based on nothing but love.
SPOT ON JOYCE.
JOYCE
We’re two people in a room, Olga. Two people genuinely trying to understand who the other one really is.
SPOT ON OLGA.
OLGA
Two people in a room. That’s exactly what we were. At the right time. In the right place. On time…
Have you ever burst into tears in front of someone you barely know? It’s like a faucet bursting and you’re trying with all your might to plug the leak, but the more you press, the faster the water seems to come out? How awful…
A love. A love that existed in that moment. That’s what it was. What it is.
Love for her purity. Her authenticity. Her vulnerability. Love for everything I recognized in her, but had long since lost. In that moment, I loved her. And she loved me.
Ave Maria
Inspired by the life and mythology of Maria Callas, Ave Maria is a psychological drama exploring memory, identity, self-reconciliation and the search for meaning beyond the roles we inhabit.
Moving beyond biography, the work presents a dialogue between different versions of the self, examining the distance between who we are and who we believe ourselves to be. Through encounters that unfold between memory, imagination and reality, the play explores themes of performance, loss, survival, vulnerability and belonging.
At its heart, Ave Maria asks a universal question: what remains when that which has given our lives meaning, purpose and a sense of worth begins to disappear? Through the figure of Maria Callas, the play explores the fragile relationship between identity and existence, and the possibility of reconciliation when we finally allow every part of ourselves to be seen.
SELECTED EXCERPT:
MARIA
I was 11 years old. Mary Kalos. Ugly. Fat. Unloved. That’s how it felt, anyway. I’d only been taking singing lessons for a month. My mother made me practice day and night. I sang until my throat was raw. And it felt amazing. Because she seemed to notice me. She saw me. For the first time in my life.
AUDIO OF A DOOR OPENING. MARIA AND CALLAS TURN TOWARDS THE AUDIENCE SIMULTANEOUSLY.
VOICE MOTHER
What are you doing?
MARIA
Nothing, Mother, I…
VOICE MOTHER
No time for laziness. Tonight you’re performing. For a real audience.
MARIA
(SHOCKED) But I can’t, I’m not ready!
VOICE MOTHER
Don’t be a coward!
(CALMER) It’s a talent show on the radio. You’re lucky your mother is such a go-getter… It wasn’t easy to get you on there; everyone wants to be in it.
MARIA
But Mother, I can’t…
VOICE MOTHER
Can’t what? You’re not old enough to know what you can or can’t do. I’m your mother. I know!
MARIA SULKS, STARES AT THE FLOOR.
VOICE MOTHER
Young lady, I had to make a lot of sacrifices to hand you this opportunity. You’re going to sing.
MARIA
But, Mother…
AUDIO OF A DOOR SLAMMING SHUT.
AUDIO OF THE DOOR OPENING AGAIN.
VOICE MOTHER
And put on a nice dress. You look awful.
MARIA STILL STARES AT THE FLOOR.
VOICE MOTHER
One day, you will thank your mother.
We’re leaving in an hour.
AUDIO OF DOOR CLOSING.
MARIA
So I opened the closet and got out my finest dress…
I knew they would all hate me. That I couldn’t do what she thought I could do.
The fear… the indescribable fear… So I started to sing. “La Paloma.”
AUDIO OF LA PALOMA.
MARIA BEGINS TO PACE UP AND DOWN.
MARIA
Over and over again… Louder and louder, until I was screaming more than I was singing. I hoped she would hear me, that she’d walk into my room and tell me I didn’t have to go, that it was too soon. That I was too small. That she would protect me. And I kept looking at the door of my room.
But she didn’t come. Of course she didn’t…
And the fear disappeared, it sank to the bottom of my heart and I felt the anger slowly take over…
And I looked at the door and I hated her, I hated her so much/
MARIA ABRUPTLY STOPS PACING.
MARIA
And suddenly I saw myself in the large mirror in the corner of my room.
And for the first time, I saw You. The fire in your eyes. The strength. The beauty. And you looked at me. Without saying a word. And I knew you saw me. You saw.
And I knew that you would protect me. That you would do what no one else did.
CALLAS
We won that talent show.
MARIA
Yes, we did…
CALLAS
Remember that hideous little watch they gave you?
MARIA
I thought it was the most beautiful watch in the world. I wore it for years.
CALLAS
(SMILES) I know…
PAUSE.
MARIA
I’m sorry…
CALLAS
Me too.
I wish things were different.
MARIA
Me too. I shouldn’t have… You see, I thought he would give me/
CALLAS
(INTERRUPTS) I know you loved him… But you should have trusted me.
MARIA
I know.
Both Waarheid (Truth) and Ave Maria are available for theatrical development, staged readings and production enquiries. For further information regarding scripts, rights and collaboration opportunities, please get in touch via the Contact page.