Autobiographical theatre walks a tightrope. When a story is this intimate, this traumatic, the danger is never just about being vulnerable on stage; it is whether the work can shape lived pain into something theatrically legible without flattening it, sensationalising it, or asking the audience for sympathy. The challenge is not about being honest, but about keeping control. To revisit periods of OCD, coercion, compulsion, and abuse of power, requires a level of precision that goes far beyond confession. It demands structure, restraint, and a clear artistic vision.
Split Ends understands that risk from the outset, and rather than retreating from it, Claudia Shnier meets it head-on.
Split Ends unfolds across two intertwined narratives: Shnier’s private, painfully obsessive relationship with her hair, and the surreal relationship with her Vacuum boyfriend, who continues to suck the life out of her. Through puppetry, physical theatre, and sharp, sometimes jarring musical numbers, these stories become extremely vivid without losing their depth and resonance.
