Video trailer
“The Journey of a Warlike Mind sees Ana Luiza Ulsig push the boundaries of artistic expression to deliver a vibrant, comedically-rich and affecting feminist exposé” Ask The Ushers ★★★★
Rose rises from her tomb. From the dead, from the past. She alerts for an imminent war, for the extreme necessity of transformation of a woman’s soul, a woman who has stopped feeling. She has the key to the mind of Eva, our heroine, and her many facets that battle throughout the play.
The audience is taken into an adventure through imagination, fantasy, mystery, laughter and tears. The hardest journey of them all: from the mind to the bottom of the heart.
"A heartfelt and very physical piece of theatre (…) Impressive in its realisation” Broadway World
Based on a true episode of a “mental breakdown”, occurred during the impeachment process of Brazil’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, in 2016, The Journey of a Warlike Mind deals with the inherent tension in the relationships between all the voices that live inside our minds, and establishes an up-to-date discussion on gender on a deep and intimate level. Eva has been silent for too long and needs to seek her essential voice.
Drawing from the roots of theatre and using the simplest and most accessible ingredient for healing – stories, “The Journey of a Warlike Mind” explores the ugliness of traumas in contraposition to the beauty of transformation. The play is inspired by the book “Woman who run with the Wolves”, by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and by Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797), a British writer and philosopher, considered the mother of modern feminism.
“Ulsig’s flare for comedy and her skill with multi-rolling is given its deserving spotlight.” Within Her Words
The universe of this unique piece is embedded with elements of African music and dance, modern and electronic music, allied with a detailed character composition and an original dramaturgy grown from poems, paintings, tales and dramatic scenes.
"The Journey of a Warlike Mind" is, above all, about change, transformation and transcendental hope. A tragicomic and bittersweet tale about rediscovering the roles that we as women play in our lives and breaking patterns that have been so rigidly built within us.
Creative team:
Written and performed by Ana Luiza Ulsig
Collaborators: Mariana Santos Silva, Gabriel Gawin, Olavo Cavalheiro, Joseph Dunne-Howrie, Camila Boer
Artistic and Graphic Design by Sofie Ulsig cargocollective.com/sofieart & Radoslav Nedyalkov radographic.com
African Dance Direction: Joana Marinho @eroproducao
Costume Design Direction: Camila Crus @flor_delaranjeiras & Mariana Millecco
Photos by Aidan Huxford and Gabriel Gawin
Special thanks to Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance
History
The journey of the journey
The Journey of a Warlike Mind was born in 2018 from original scripts, poems, paintings, photographs, and chronicles written over the course of one year, under the umbrella of the MA Actor & Performer Training at Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance, London.
After an open rehearsal for teachers and colleagues in October that year, an excerpt of the play was presented at the event “Don’t Judge Me By My Accent”, at Theatre Delicatessen, London, in March 2019. Both performances were received with great enthusiasm.
The play selected as part of the BEDFORD FESTIVAL FRINGE 2019, where it won the Spirit of the Bedfringe award of the year.
In 2020, The Journey of a Warlike Mind took part in London’s biggest and boldest theatre festival, the VAULT Festival, with a very successful run and reviews by critics.
The show was selected for the Latin American Season 2020, the first partnership between The Actors Centre in London and a Latin-American initiative; but couldn't be presented due to the pandemic.
In 2022, the project the project resumed its activities in the performer's birth country, Denmark, at the Bådteatret (Boat Theatre), in the famous area of Nyhavn.
This is a long term project, a work-in-progress which aims to create a net of interested and experienced artists, to generate integration between the different nationalities and expertise involved.
"Emotive and witty"
Ask the Ushers ★★★★
HIRE THE SHOW
The play has a simple set composed of one chair and two small racks.
Technical necessities/staff:
- Lighting system (the lighting plan can be easily adapted)
- Sound system / connection to PC
- Lighting operator
- Sound operator
The play can be followed by a post-show chat or debate; and/or linked to the workshop "Nourishing the Creative Life", guided by Ana Luiza Ulsig.
For more information, contact us