A restless and forgetful account by Mmabatho Thobejane



Definitely a foyer.
A sparse foyer with no bar
And no usual round tables
And no plastic stools
And a video work
in the corner of my eye

Definitely a stage.
A beachfront-like/lake-front like/campsite-ish stage
(reminiscent of Linghede’s Idioter I Skogen)
and a center here, there and everywhere
and a bar kitted out with tequila shots.

Definitely a man and Isolde Berkquist
Isolde Berkquist in a silicon mask and
Mattias of Bunk TV
stood in front of a patchwork cloth
and running (or fake-frantic running?)
and erratically testifying
about bunk: a magic energy drink
frantic.

Definitely Amanda Apetrea.
Amanda Apetrea as a bear
and a bear as Amanda Apetrea
and pushing into a peripheral center
a tree stump
and a human-butt
poking out of a bear suit
and that bare butt
sitting on that tree stump
to play us a little tune
on a miniature black piano.

Definitely a tre kronor shirt.
A tre kronor shirt
and player named Främling
and jersey number 99
and Lydia Ö Diakite’s sharp, grand,
pop-like choreography on loop
and the instrumental of Carola’s
‘Främling’, also on loop
and ‘Främling 99’ in front of a fan
and Diakite, still on loop
and gradually slowing down
and ‘Främling’, still on loop
and gradually slowing down.

Definitely
Diakite and ‘Främling’ slowed down
In the deeper ranges something darker
and more intense, revealed
something less like
‘Främling, vad döljer du för mig i dina mörka ögon’
something more like
‘Carola, vad döljer du för mig i dina fråga’.

Definitely Yoann Durant.
Yoann Durant playing
the saxophone
and wielding it like a hose piper
destined to hurriedly
but evenly
disperse the ensuing
gush of sound

Definitely a dispersive sound.
here this moment,
gone the next
still lingering
somehow

and maybe we, with Yoann Durant,
are in some timeless place anyway
so timeless, he has gone over time
and MDT on a tight schedule
much less timeless.

Definitely something about the dinner downstairs.
The dinner downstairs gone over time
and 22:30
and Marvil upstairs doing the dishwashing
and Unn about, helping with the dishwashing
and Nira downstairs doing the dishwashing
and me sneaking out to help with the dishwashing.

Definitely studio 2.
Studio 2 now a restaurant of sorts
and a kitchen with only 2 stoves
and a 23:00 dinner start
and a visibly tired Alma
and some crémant, anyway, to kick us off
and then some more, to keep us going
and in the meantime white wine
and cheese
and leftover olives from the table beside us
and at some point an apple-and-celery based starter
and a delicious savoury mousse.

and then an announcement about some forthcoming lamb
but first, anecdotes from the chef and her sidekick(s)
about rice-and-arsenic
and riches-to-rags
Or rags to riches?
and fancy-but-disgusting-pizza
And the show going on
in food-less directions.

Definitely 01:23.
01:23 and no lamb yet
and more crémant.

Allegedly 3:30am
When an allegedly delicious lamb
Makes an appearance
Alleged because by then
I am already home
fast asleep.

Finally A Real Poem - A Last Minute Sonnet
Last Minute festival was full and scattered and late
Some things delicious, some things random
Some things critical, some things great
Most things fictitious I could never fathom

There were things I missed, I heard, that came with a twist
Like foil and music and dancing in throngs
Some things were tame, while others resist
Some things I saw that had their own songs

I wish the lamb came before I grew tired
I wish there’d been more food to eat
I wish the chef cooked on and less transpired
I wish the crémant came with a sweet treat

We twist and turn, attempting agility and risking frayed edges
To try new things together, in times like these, reveals new pledges.

BIO: Mmabatho Thobejane (she/they) is a sangoma and cultural practitioner working across curating, craft and text as material practices. They are a producer at MDT Moderna Dansteatern, a platform for contemporary dance and choreography, located on Skeppsholmen in Stockholm.