We recognized immediately in the first chapter of a novel by Petros Markaris the perfect source for our work. The greek writer - who is also an important political commentator of his country - has decided to set his latest books on the background of the economic crisis. "Termination" opens with the image of four retired housewives who voluntarily commit suicide leaving a message brilliant in its simplicity, which ends by saying: "(...) we realized that we are a weight to the state, the doctors, pharmacists and across society. So we decided to go because we don’t want to be a burden to you. You'll save our four pensions and you will be able to live better.". We grew fond of these four elderly women because it is not a true story but a fiction, we imagined their plot reacting to the society in crisis, we have limited our creation from the moment they take the sleeping pills and one by one leaves life, in the small suburbian apartment. In addition to Markaris there is another important initial source, the short essay by the Korean German-trained philosopher Byung-Chul Han "Society of fatigue.". Finally the scene writen by Markaris made us think about suicide not as an existential act but as an extreme political act. Is there an altruistic suicide? We went to look for other similar gestures in History. The one of Jan Palach, who during the Prague’s Spring in 1969, who set himself on fire as an act of protest against censorship and that of the buddhist monk in Vietnam, Thich Quang Duc, who, in 1963, made the same gesture to combat the persecution to his religion

Authors' Note: 

While reading Petros Markaris’s novel Termination, we found the perfect source for our work. The Greek writer opens the first chapter with the image of four retired housewives who voluntarily commit suicide leaving a simple, powerful message: "We realized that we are a weight to the state, doctors, pharmacists and society. So we decided we’ll be off, to spare you further worry. You'll save our four pensions and you’ll live better." 

The play opens in this suburban apartment where the women have just taken their “sleeping” pills. A reflection on suicide not as an existential act, but as an extreme political act. Is there an altruistic suicide? We looked for similar gestures in History: Jan Palach, who during the Prague’s Spring in 1969, set himself on fire as an act of protest against censorship, and the buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who in 1963 made the same gesture to combat the persecution of his religion in Vietnam. 

We decided to go because we don't want to be a burden to you originated with Monica Piseddu and Valentino Villa, and opened at RomaEuropaFestival 2013. It won the 2014 Ubu Award for Dramaturgical Research. 

ABOUT THE Authors:

Daria Deflorian and Antonio Tagliarini are two performers, writer and directors who, alongside their own personal works, have embarked on an intense and regular collaboration since 2008. Inspired by their common stage performance background they continually explore and research other modes of representation and alternative audience-performer alliances. Their first such collaborative work was Rewind, A Tribute to Café Muller by Pina Bausch created in 2008. 

In 2009 they co-wrote, directed and acted in their own production called From A to D and back again, loosely based on Andy Warhol’s similarly titled book. Since 2011 they have worked on Progetto Reality (‘Project Reality’) which has morphed into two works: czeczy/cose (‘things’), an installation/performance and Reality, Ubu Award 2012 for Best Italian Actress. 

In November 2013 they presented Ce ne andiamo per non darvi altre preoccupazioni (We decided to go because we don’t want to be a burden to you), where they were joined on stage by two other performers Monica Piseddu and Valentino Villa. This play won the Ubu Award 2014 for Best New Italian Dramaturgical Research and the Quebec-Canadian Awards 2016 for the best foreign show. 

Their latest project, Il cielo non è un fondale (‘The Sky Is Not a Backdrop’), where they were joined on stage by two other performers Monica Demuru e Francesco Alberici, was presented in Autumn 2016. From Autumn 2015 Daria and Antonio presented their shows at the Festival d’Automne in Paris. This also marked the beginning of an international tour through France, Swiss, Germany, Canada and Brasil. 

Rewind, a Tribute to Café Muller, czeczy/cose, Reality and Ce ne andiamo per non darvi altre preoccupazioni were published by Titivillus 2014 in one edition called Trilogia dell’invisibile (Trilogy of the Invisible). Il cielo non è un fondale was published by Cue Press 2017. 

About the Translator:

Maria Galante is a European translator based in Rome who has specialised in cultural publications.
She is currently working on an academic publication focused on Phenomenologising Ontological Vibrations in Contemporary Burkinabe Music.