Whilst the world around her is falling apart, Rebecca tries out a new fish recipe (how apt) and listens to Moby Disk’s playlist. In the face of apocalyptic floods, stranded whales and a neighbour’s suicide, Rebecca defies the catastrophes of life with the principle of homemaking. Come what may, she keeps the food warm for her loved ones far away. Five minutes ago, her neighbour Gladys killed herself and her husband. Soon afterwards, Rebecca chases off a rapist with an iron. The Homemaker by award-winning American playwright Noah Haidle is a strange and profound homage to the life of a housewife.
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In another time zone, with a vegetarian lentil dish in front of him, Haidle is finally ready to share some comments via e-mail. When asked about the fact that his play addresses the philosophical questions of life and make-up tips at the same level, and in an electrifyingly lifelike way, he writes:
“Right now I’m eating lunch at an Indian buffet in Los Angeles and I’ve been in the car a lot and my feet are kind of sweaty and it’s a little uncomfortable and after I get another plate of lentils I’m going to buy myself a new pair of socks as a treat and then at some point my heart will stop and it will be like my consciousness never existed.” Both planes exist simultaneously.” The best way to deal with this finiteness is to give everything to what you do, even if it seems banal, just like Rebecca does.