Gabriela Flarys’s quietly affecting Deluge explores the experience of loss, based on interviews with people that have struggled to come to terms with the unexpected appearance of the end of things.
The central narrative is a relationship breaking down suddenly and the overwhelming deluge of thoughts that then flood the house, the space she had shared with her partner. There are remnants of him everywhere in the physical space, as well as within her body.
Flarys’s intense physicality and irresistible charm draw you into the flood, as she tries to find the words and ideas that will make sense of the complexity of her loss. Her friends’ experiences of grief overlay her own, covering the death of a loved one, a pet, the loss of an object and more. Her impish humour cuts through the sadness and emphasises the absurdity of grief, as it comes in waves, leaking in through her emotional defences.
With its roots in locked-down London, there remains a claustrophobic feel to this magical-realistic 'dramedy'. There are touches of Julio Cortazar’s micro-fictions which use irreverent situations and bizarre characters to expose human frailty, mortality and inadequacy. Here, Flarys’s home becomes a representation of her physical self, the water a stream of persistent, flitting thoughts which keep her from leaving, from moving on.
Combining comedy, dance and original music, this gently surreal dreamscape is a place in which to become lost and find oneself anew. Deluge is a charming, life-affirming show that will appeal to anyone that has experienced loss.