HYSTÉRA (who's your mommy)

Clara Bender

Drama

Synopsis

Ira, our protagonist, is in her late twenties and is repeatedly confronted with the fact that her social environment primarily perceives her as a potential childbearer. But what does it mean for a woman to decide against having children?

Ira embarks on a journey of discovery that leads her into her own past – and, in the process, she examines her relationships with the various women in her life. Her (at first) unwanted companion is the anger she can frequently feel approximately one handspan below her navel: anger about social developments, the laws of biology and the stereotypes associated with the decision not to have children. Is it possible to feel such fury and not let oneself be isolated by it? And what power can be gained from these feelings?

Fortunately, Ira is not alone in her search: She is accompanied by the “Choir of Cat Ladies” – women in the past and present who live their lives in defiance of social norms. Together, they explore, fight and laugh – and they discover something radically new: “_woman and cat / _the potential for autonomy”.

With much humour and empathy, “HYSTÉRA (who’s your mommy)” reflects on the phenomenon of (not) being a mother, on the female body as a political issue and on the utopian potential of connectedness.

Clara Bender is a dramaturge and a writer. She studied dramaturgy at the Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding, earning a master’s degree in 2024 after a semester of scenic writing at the Berlin University of the Arts. It was there she wrote her first play, “HYSTÉRA (who’s your mommy)”, with which she was invited to participate in the Long Weekend of New Plays at the Theater Münster in 2025.

Amelie von Godin studied physical theatre at the Folkwang University of the Arts and then stage direction at the Ernst Busch University of Theatre Arts in Berlin, graduating in 2024 with her diploma production of “Schimmernde Schluchten” at the Schauspiel Bern. Together with her team, she won the young talent contest of the Theater Drachengasse in Vienna in 2024. “HYSTÉRA (who’s your mommy)” is her first production at the Salzburg State Theatre.