I admit I haven’t heard of Mario Banushi until his work was selected by NYU Skirball Center as part of their under the radar festival. After seeing MAMI, I can definitely say his work is amazing and I cannot wait to see more of his works in the future! I’d say he is in the league of Dimitris Papaioannou. And to think he is only 26 years of age!
Here’s my take on MAMI which means mother. This is a wordless 90 minute performance. We are presented with a small house in a rural setting and we see the performers enacting the cycles of motherhood from giving birth to taking care of their child up to the point that the roles are reversed and the their child takes care of them. The series of events are not presented in a chronological way but rather jumps back and forth from past to present to give the audience an outright comparison. There are so many symbolisms that he used throughout the show such as the street lamp, the basin of water, the fireworks, the bicycle. But what is amazing is that he lets the audience interpret what he presnts based on their own life’s experiences. So each of the audience in the packed Skirball setting have their own interpretation of what they saw. It was mesmerizing and beautiful to watch. Definitely a must see.
There are two male actors Dimitris Lagos and Fortis Stratigos who bared everything for almost the entire show. Both are perfect male specimen I must say. Perfect bodies! This is one amazing show. A great start for 2026.