“Pick Me Girls”: “It would be pure man-hatred if I read that out now” | EUROtoday

The piece is about Sophie Passmann, it comes from Sophie Passmann and it’s performed by Sophie Passmann. The 30-year-old jokes that she may truly write the evaluate herself. Which, in a sure sense, she does: The autobiographical one-woman present “Pick Me Girls,” based mostly on the bestselling e book of the identical title, which premiered on the Berliner Ensemble to a sold-out viewers, sees itself as greater than only a feminist stand-up comedy sociological illumination of the Pick Me Girls phenomenon, but additionally as a self-reflective evaluation of Passmann’s work thus far.

And that’s wide-ranging: The writer of books reminiscent of “Old White Men”, “Completely Goosebumps” and “Pick Me Girls”, born in 1994, hosts, amongst different issues, the discuss present “Neo Ragazzi” and made her performing debut within the collection “Damaged Goods”. So now the step from books and tv to the theater stage.

One may actually look ahead to the night in two minds. Not the whole lot that Passmann tries – and that is so much – succeeds (the literary program she moderated, “Studio Orange,” for instance, acquired quite a lot of comprehensible criticism and was canceled after three episodes). But on this case the considerations are unfounded: It will not be an exaggeration to see the night, directed by Christina Tscharyiski, who already labored efficiently with the very in a different way feminist Stefanie Sargnagel, because the creative spotlight of Passmann’s profession.

The viewers cheers and laughs all through your entire hour and a half and on the finish Passmann bows to a thunderous corridor and a sustained standing ovation. All screenings have been offered out prematurely, tickets are being haggled on Instagram and there are ready lists. An anticipatory hype, however the manufacturing positively lives as much as it. And a preferred success with which the venerable Berlin ensemble follows on from its equally dazzling one-woman present “It’s Britney Bitch!”, which additionally just lately succeeded in attracting plenty of younger individuals to the theater.

A e book is the one prop that Passmann makes use of. The backdrop, designed by Janina Kuhlmann, additionally stays lowered. Only an enormous shell lies on the stage, in entrance of a colourful, glittering tinsel curtain. But not a lot occurs to them. A pink glowing “cult” signal solely comes into view in the direction of the top of the applause. In between there’s a little bit of singing from the background (not from Passmann!), that is it. Although there may be all the time discuss of the writer picture that adorns the quilt of the “Pick Me Girls” e book, it’s by no means proven, one in all many elegant directorial concepts.

Passmann’s play additionally impresses with a nice restraint: no shouting, no outbursts of anger, because the theme and zeitgeist would recommend, however reasonably an emotional state that oscillates between humorous, self-confident and susceptible, uncertain, with Passmann in a lightweight blue costume paying homage to superheroine armor reveals.

Girl bosses and champagne feminists

Thematically, Passmann’s consuming issues dominate. The method she repeatedly demonstrates how she would not match into pants, as a baby not at H&M together with her mates, and later on the cowl shoot for her newest e book, has a slapstick tragicomic high quality to it. She was not solely a fats woman, but additionally a fats child. The story of how she could not match into the onesie on the ward as a new child turned a working joke amongst household and mates. She discovered early on that it was higher acquired if she laughed alongside as an alternative of trying unhappy whereas the anecdote was informed in her presence, says Passmann.

The writer talks about starvation and shivering, and it would not be fascinating if it have been a person starvation and shivering, and never the starvation and shivering of all ladies. From the hatred of the whole lot female, which women and men have internalized equally, Passmann attracts a line from self-loathing, envy and position fashions, to woman bosses, daddy points, champagne feminists and misunderstood bisexuality. She typically hits the sore spot of a society that likes to faux to be enlightened and feminist, however would not even say hi there to a fats girl. Passmann’s examples are hardly ever too putting or far-fetched, for instance when speaking a few woman who prefers to drink tea at house on her birthday as an alternative of going out for pizza together with her dad and mom.

The typical “pick me girl” sentences that Passmann makes use of for example the kind of girl she herself belonged to for a very long time with a purpose to please males, nevertheless, appear sufficiently acquainted: “I’m not like other women” or “I much prefer to work with them Men together are much more relaxed.” They are all signs of a dilemma: “Men hate femininity, but they need women”. So it’s important to act such as you’re completely different from different ladies.

“Pick Me Girls” is greater than a feminist studying or re-enacted assortment of anecdotes. An ingenious dramaturgical trick, for instance, lets Passmann first defend her cowl picture to dissatisfied followers (“You’re sitting strangely in the photo of the book cover!”) (“Intention”). Only on the very finish does Passmann repeat the state of affairs by which the picture was taken intimately – thereby cleverly reversing her total earlier argument. The intelligent manufacturing creates ambiguities and ambivalences that have been lacking from the unique e book. One of the numerous profitable concepts within the stage model is the omission of weaker components of the e book, reminiscent of Passmann’s questionable statements about her Botox consumption.

Immunization in opposition to criticism

The writer herself offers the criticism in most locations: the e book passages are repeatedly damaged up by dialogues that the writer has with herself. What is left in limbo is whether or not the important insertions are the self-doubts of an internalized outdoors perspective or the replica of actual reactions to her appearances and books. Passmann would do nicely to not quote any extremes, any clearly misogynistic hate speeches or dick pic orgies. Instead, she sighs into the room all of the in all probability well-intentioned, refined nastiness that’s hurled at her, particularly by followers and girls: it is the “too bad” or the “really disappointing” feedback that she makes in her good method look underneath the feminist microscope.

Passmann consistently interrupts herself, simply earlier than she was about to start, adopting the accusatory, involved, self-pitying tone that we all know from her e book. When she talks about “the men,” she rapidly provides, “not all men,” in a tone that half apes the critics and half caves in. She accuses herself of reflecting on her privileges, not taking over a lot house, and why did she say that one factor three years in the past?

This method of anticipating and refuting any attainable criticism of the Passmann persona and her efficiency and on the identical time wiping out attainable new critics prematurely should be appreciated for its cleverness. At the identical time, the entire downside of electoral feminism that Passmann represents is revealed right here: immunization in opposition to criticism of any sort prevents progress, particularly a contest of concepts.

Sophie Passmann’s night is a combination of stand-up comedy, cabaret, Ted discuss and traditional tragedy. Sometimes he makes use of the register of (inverted) old-boy humor a la “Defending the Caveman,” which attracts its humor from stereotypical gender attributions (males all the time overlook to buy; they by no means write again, and so forth.). Then once more, the feminine revenge style is performed with when Passmann threatens to learn out the crimes of her ex-boyfriends from a “burn book” like in “Mean Girls”. If one in all them was sitting within the viewers and had one thing in opposition to it, he may get up and say one thing. The viewers fires the nonetheless hesitant – “No, that would be in bad taste. No, that would be pure man-hatred if I were to read that out now” – Ms.

But issues prove in a different way than anticipated. Instead of producing collective anger and energy in opposition to the boys uncovered on this method from the general public lecture, Passmann turns into quieter with each phrase, has to lie down sooner or later and eventually falls silent. Recapitulating all of the conditions by which she made herself small and allowed herself to be made small not solely helps her achieve new energy, but additionally exhibits her her vulnerability, all of the ache, all of the “waste”. The night lastly ends with such a touching second of silence, even of mourning for all of the unlived, in a different way lived, wrongly lived lives. An night that’s each an embrace and a tribute to all the ladies who’ve change into the way in which they’re.