Girl in Suitcase

A unique, ever-evolving performance that uses interactive theatre, dance and life art to show us the naked body and sacred feminine as we never see them.

Girl in Suitcase celebrates female power and sexuality, and embraces death as a natural part of the life cycle. The show is a tour de force engaging the relationships between the performer(s) and audience. The model is shown transitioning from object to subject in all her naked glory.

The show combines theatre and performance art, sometimes with an inversion of a life drawing class too. The models redefine the boundaries between artist and muse, and instruct the audience in how to draw them, as well as paint on them in an act of complete trust.

The sacred feminine is a driving force in the piece. The 2015 version is characterised by ancient Goddesses, and reclaims menstrual rites. The work is structurally informed by the life cycle of Woman, phases of the Moon, and the rolling seasons.

The play evolved from the imaginations of a working life model (2009), into an autobiographical tale of Mother and daughter (2011 – 14), finally becoming an entire expression of Womanhood as it is today. Appealing to both an audience who like to draw, and one preferring to keep their eyes on the action throughout. It has involved live musicians (from The Next Room, also Sarah Kent), as well as recorded music.

A few years ago the performance was shortened, left out the life drawing; and returned to a one woman show. Menstrual rites and the emancipation of woman still feature strongly. Here is a video of it from Venice, August 2016 (NB the monologues are in Italian.)

Girl in Suitcase is Esther Bunting (supported by an ever changing cast). In 2018 it embodied a surreal pagan vibe in ‘Equinox’, and in 2019 the show followed the lives of some of Esther’s ancestors. This was a return to the theme of suitcase as symbol of migration.

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Find Esther Bunting on Vimeo, including Girl in Suitcase performance clips & film