“Say goodbye to the old you and say goodbye to the old me” is Salmonella’s endearing yet amusing message.
Founders of the duo Salmonella, Eva Mareen (actress and singer) and Julia Rosenhart (singer and pianist), took us on a whirlwind of emotions in their theatrical music storytelling performance. From “piano, synthesizers, unorthodox harmonies, interwoven with spoken texts and movement” Salmonella brings us on a journey from youth to adulthood where we may humorously reminisce about the all too familiar uneasy transformations we encounter throughout life.
After producing some works Salmonella looked at their written material and noticed a pattern. “Most of the material was about not feeling well in one’s skin and the need for change.” As “we grew up, we started to think differently than our parents. Our surroundings changed and so did we.”
Only since 2023 have the duo been performing together. After their master performances at the conservatory of Antwerp the duo have continued expanding and working on their performance. In the process of bringing the project together “there was a lot of back and forth” which “sometimes makes our work quite fragmentary. We use unorthodox structures and melodies” Salmonella explains. It “creates a quirky world” that audience members can find humor in as well as solace and familiarity. Although transformation and growth can be uncomfortable, “we want to emphasize that change can be a good thing, that you can find beauty in it and that sometimes it’s necessary to grow.”
In the several layers of movement, the tactility in the harmonies and music, their performance not only successfully compliments the tragic-comedy of ‘going through life and figuring it all out’ but also playfully allows the audience to distinguish the metaphors riddled within; From the act of a hissing snake shedding its skin and identity, to the mimicry of a demanding child and then to the imitation of a whale attempting to call out for a mate in the wide ocean – which very perfectly describes dating in your early 20s.
Salmonella hopes listeners will “think about their own transformation through life.” With the various sudden stark contrasts of emotions and the accented changes in the music, the performance comically mirrors one’s journey in trying to ‘grab the reins of life’. Salmonella emphasizes that “you have to let a part of yourself die to make way for new ways of thinking.” Otherwise they also hope to “sweep people off their feet and let them forget their life outside for an hour.”
Salmonella will perform again at Scala in Amsterdam from 11th to 16th June and the 3rd till 7th July and is a must see for anyone who wishes to embrace the whimsicality of growth and change. Anja Herrmann 23rd May 2024
