Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, a.k.a. “the dada baroness,” is the very first performance artist. A woman who lived a wild life in the early 20th century from Berlin to New York, turned herself into a living queer artwork and lifted the distinction between performer and person. She created the first readymades and wrote provocative poetry, was openly bisexual, fought for the female orgasm and wore men's clothes in public (and was arrested for it). En passant, she elevated a urinal into a work of art. But Elsa also ended up on the fringes of society and disappeared into oblivion after her death.
Ludwig Bindervoet brings this anarchic and unsurpassed pioneer to where she belongs: the stage. Together with actor and playwright Ellen Goemans, Ludwig delves into the musicality and corporeality that is so characteristic of the dada language. They prove once and for all that dada is not only playful but also moving, and not only witty but deeply political. Ludwig calls Elsa to life out of admiration, but he also confronts his hypocrisy and that of his generation. He confronts his artistry and privileges with Elsa's radical art as an act of self-sacrifice. MAMA DADA is a theatrical assault on the norm.