Hideto Ambiguous tours the North Island with his one-man tragicomedy, “The Unfolding of Benjamin’s Misery,” the winner of Best Words and Ideas Award at Melbourne Fringe Festival 2019.
Benjamin is a storyteller.
What's his story?
Of his most miserable night at a small entertainment venue where he was exploited as an undocumented migrant.
Poor Benjamin!
And what happened that night?
Nothing. Not yet.
Everybody was waiting, both Benjamin and the audience, very patiently,
not for Godot, but for Marebito the spoken word poet of the night,
except for the impatient Boss.
And like many other bosses, this guy was a total jerk.
So it seemed most natural for him to 'kindly ask' Benjamin to entertain the waiting audience impromptu with some 'traditional Asian dance.'
Yes, Benjamin is Asian, but never was a performer and rather grew up with Hollywood.
But what 'choices' did he have?
It was only after Benjamin humiliated himself onstage that Marebito finally arrived.
Of course, Benjamin in distress could no way know in advance how this encounter would soon begin to unfold his misery and ultimately lead him to where he is today.
But what am I to say anymore?
I leave the rest to Benjamin himself to tell you because he is now the storyteller.
The Unfolding of Benjamin's Misery is an award-winning solo theatre project by Liverpool poetry slam champ Hideto Ambiguous.
In the play, Hideto carefully interweaves techniques of spoken word, storytelling and dark clown to enliven a painful narrative of 'nobodies' and to expose interconnectedness otherwise obfuscated. This project critically and creatively explores a sociopolitical dimension accesible only from a dialectical perspective of the negatives.
All words, dance, and songs are Hideto's original and serve to highlight this purpose.
This is a story dedicated to all laborers, foreigners, poets, and everyday dissidents.