Idiomatic

Idiomatic is a multi-lingual performance with five actors, set in an imaginary world without English, in which only two actors at a time understand each other: the German understands Romanian, the Romanian understands French, the Belgian understands Swedish, the Norwegian understands Swedish and Italian and the Slovenian just about gets by in Italian and German.

The linguistic mess should not, however, cause greater problems, as the team has available a prototype of the IDIOMATIC* device, which should forever eliminate any communication noise and thus contribute to the abolishment of misunderstandings and wars, which would finally guarantee peace on earth.

The interactive performance, which begins as an awards ceremony of the International Peace Institute Award to IDIOMATIC for its contribution to world peace, quickly goes awry because of the machine’s quirks and the forever questionable human factor, the prevalent stereotypes and unfamiliarity with special local traits.

With the help of the enthusiastic cast in overcoming misunderstandings, and with the participation of the audience, the performance develops from a potentially terrifying starting point where no one understands anyone else, towards a much more optimistic stand that we can understand each other if we want to. The need for communication is rooted in human nature and the absence of a common language is not an obstacle. As long as we wish to meet and communicate with others.

The performance has another special feature: the creators change it slightly for each linguistic territory, and the actors swap roles every time, so that the “home” actor is always the one leading the performance.

* Interface Digitale d’Interprétation Optimisée en Mode Automatique pour le Théâtre International or Automated Digital Interface for Improved Interpreting in International Theatre.