Writer-performer Sofia Natoli brings her show Babel Beast to the Voila! Festival next month.
“Herself divided between Italy, France and the UK, Sofia Natoli explores her multiculuralism and the lived experience of (un)belonging in between cultural spaces.
Multi-rolling the notorious femme fatales from Ancient Greece, she playfully challenges the audience through a series of acts based on the principle of “take and break”.
From song, to burlesque and emceeing, mime and lip syncing, this feminist theatre adaptation explores agency and identity as a hybrid woman, exposing the multiple voices that layer one person.
The Sphynx is calling and she’s got a wild line-up waiting for you…”
Where: Etcetera Theatre
When: 10-12 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/babel-beast/
Tell me a bit about your show. Where did the idea come from?
My show is called Babel Beast and is a multilingual, experimental cabaret that explores being multicultural through hybrid monstresses of Greek myth – like Medusa, the Sphinx or the Sirens.
Being a solo show, I multirole from one monstress to another, each performing a modernly adapted cabaret act. I sing, I dance, I lip-synch, there’s some stand-up comedy, some verbatim and personal storytelling, as well as some more experimental performance.
This interdisciplinary format mirrors the idea of hybridity at the core of my show: it’s about being culturally hybrid, growing up with different cultures and languages and having to navigate those as a woman.
It took me quite a few months of research before the idea sparked up. As part of my Masters at Mountview, we had to create a 30 minute solo show, and I knew I wanted to make a piece revolving around the performativity of feminine expression but it was all a bit vague.
I was reading Tim Butler Garrett’s “Kokoschka’s Fetish: Violence, Puppetness, and the Female Simulacrum as Mediated Body/Object in Central European Avant-Garde” and I came across the concept of hybridity in Greek myths.
The chapter was underlining how female monstresses like Echidna, the Sirens, Harpies, Gorgons, the Sphynx, all fall under the archetype of the ‘Femme Fatale’, who seduces men to then kill them. And it’s funny because they’re very much sexualized, even though they have wings, claws or snake tails.
They look very monstrous, but they also are usually represented with huge breasts and beautiful long hair – so they are seen as these sensual figures who are still considered dangerous or, the intimidating, ‘evil’ characters in the story.
These figures are also always transformed (often against their will) into their half-woman, half-animal appearance. I realized I could link those women to the culturally hybrid woman nowadays, often seen as ‘exotic’ and sexy, yet still a foreigner, never quite at home, or a confusing presence, who adapts and code-switches from a culture to another.
I am Italian, I was raised in France and then moved to the UK almost 5 years ago, so I grew up with three languages and cultures merging and competing in my brain – and that is an advantage when it comes to socializing, translating, communicating, but it can also lead to a feeling of alienation.
With Babel Beast I wanted to explore what that might mean to be a ‘hybrid woman’ today, playing with power shifts between audience and performer, towing the line between seduction and monstrosity, and creating a tangible sense of confusion and chaos in the theatrical space.
Why should audiences choose your show? How would you sell it in one sentence?
Audiences should come see Babel Beast because it deconstructs myths – whether about monstresses or modern women – in a very dynamic and upbeat way.
There’s a lot of pop culture moments, music and childhood references that are remixed and adapted, that should feel familiar yet fresh.
It tackles socio-political themes with lightness and play, so audiences don’t necessarily have to have studied Classics or speak more than one language to feel connected to the stories.
It’s a must see for cabaret lovers, Greek myth fanatics and people who find themselves caught in between cultures and expectations.
I think audiences should come see this show because even though it’s deeply personal, so many people share this same story in different, unique ways, and everyone should come out with more questions then when they arrived!
If I had to sell it in one sentence I would say: Babel Beast promises a fun, intimate night out if you’re looking for a dynamic, sexy (and a bit scary) cabaret of monstrous femininity!
What does being part of the Voila! Festival mean to you?
When I discovered Voilà! Festival, I thought “this is the perfect opportunity”. Voilà! screams a celebration of identity and culture, and so does Babel Beast.
It means so much to be a part of it alongside many amazing artists, and to be able to represent and explore my own cultures and languages through creative mediums and share them with public audiences for the first time.
London is such a diverse city, and I think it’s beautiful to reunite people from all over the world in one big community, especially if it’s in theatre spaces.
Working on Babel Beast for Voilà! has lead to so many creative and personal discoveries. I discovered that I can be playful and clownish in ways I didn’t realize and that no one of my cultures is more important or dominant than the other.
Each are a meaningful part of who I am. I also discovered that though this is a solo show, it is fundamentally collaborative and the themes of communication, connection and accumulating cultures are mirrored in the way the team have created this show.
How did you make a start in the industry?
I studied Drama & Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths University, where I met Luna, Al and Martina, who are not only my amazing creative team, but also my best friends. I could have never done it without their direction and ideas throughout this process.
I then got into drama school (after years of trying) and went on to do a Masters in Acting at Mountview, from which I just graduated two months ago. It was definitely a life-changing year, both as an actor and as a person, and it’s actually where Babel Beast originated, as part of a creative project module.`
I’ve performed in theatre and musical productions during university years, and I brought an extract of my magical realist play Cracks to the Act II Student Festival in 2024 – so Babel Beast is technically my official start in the industry!
What’s next for the show?
Babel Beast is coming back for Talos V Festival this December actually! And then hopefully other dates, festivals, who knows…