Pirate Jenny
Dora wrote...
We have a pianist now, Mathilde.
We have as well a mysterious new Klau Mich show coming up IN AUGUST 3 with Felix Ensslin, Ulf Aminde and Ellen Blumenstein. We only know that the title is “putting paid”. It will be introduced by Tabu. Here are some of the sentences that will be said during the opening monologue:
“Meine Damen und meine Herren welcome to the Klau Mich show, or, in English, the STEAL ME show. Very welcome the audience here in Ständehaus, very welcome to those who see us through local television, and very welcome to our world wide audience seeing us live. My name is Tabu. I know the name sounds funny but it is extremely common in Polynesia, where I come from, and where as you perhaps know, Tabus were invented. Polynesia. Do you know what a Tabu is, right? Do you sir? Could you name some tabus? Well, there in Polynesia, we had tabus before you here in Europe or in Greece knew the name for those things that bothered you so much, that made your life so difficult, like being in love with your mother, your father or your brothers and sisters, and finding it hard to admit it to yourselves, and then all of a sudden you found the name for that: Tabu. And so this is my name. I am a woman and I was born 25 years ago in Polynesia. French is my mother tongue. If you have been in other Klau Mich shows before… Has anyone here been in other Klau Mich shows before? yes? Then you perhaps know that I have been here since the first Klau Mich show, I am the stewardess, or the hostess, serving water to the guests, doing what they tell me to do, yes, I am a sort of servant. Do you know how the Klau Mich show begins normally? yes, indeed, first there is the host who welcomes the audience, ask questions about where do you all come from, looks for a bit of audience participation, like singing… or answering questions… and then the show begins. Do you believe in audience participation? Do you? Do you? You? The difference today, is that there is no host. There is no host!! Don’t ask me why… perhaps it has to do with the fact that documenta is now in its second half already and a lot of things don’t work anymore an a lot of artists are leaving. So here the host wasn’t there and then, in panic, they asked me- Tabu, you must be the host. Mais monsieur, je ne sais pas comment être le host. But Tabu, you have been here from the beginning and you know how it goes. Oui monsieur, mais je ne connais pas le invités je ne connais rien. Tabu, you do it and that’s an order; and now good bye I am going on holidays. Good bye.
So here I am, there is nobody else. Yes, I am the hostess, a servant if you want. I don’t know who the guests are; I don’t know what they are going to talk about. I know nothing, je ne sais rien, quoi!! I know the title, as you know it: putting paid. What does it mean? I did my job well, I looked it up: Putting Paid means-
(Tabu reads from a paper)
Putting paid: something has been terminated, and paid. Putting paid to something. It means that something is over, it bothers us no more. Someone was annoying, now he no longer sucks: you put paid to him. It means also to end with the ilusion of somebody, to suddenly stop someone from being able to do what they want or hope to do. It also means that something is finally done, and now there is time and space to start something new. It also means that something is no longer important.
But that’s all I know, I don’t know anything else, I am nobody here, the fucking hostess! Lights dim in the public, the light concentrates on the stage, very powerful- Tabu goes to the record player while repeating- the fucking hostess… the fucking hostess… I am a servant… I am…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Pirate Jenny!”
