Emerging from a pacing intimate dialogue, sound and movement encounter each other as lovers, sensuously and existentially alert. A merging gives way to multiplicity... as every sound layer and illumination of the space invite further entities in. Each character is single and complete within itself, coexisting in a hive activity of transformation. PERSONAS is both private and universal; permitting beauty and absurdity a common ground for visceral play of the imagination.

choreography: Maya Matilda Carroll
created with and performed by: Roy Carroll, Maya M. Carroll
headpieces: Maria-Freiderikh Cheimariou and Maya M. Carroll

premiere: Le Regard du Cygne, Paris, 31 May, 2024

"What a treat. A masterful piece you would be lucky to see in Berlin, London, Athens etc performed here on our island. So strong, original, bravely creating a multi-layered language that was both alien and strangely familiar. Raw too, anger, pain, anxiety, the shadow of war, and that amazing final connecting red string image. At times it felt like an homage to David Lynch, surreal, intense, periods of eerie stillness. Such a treat, what a gift to Aegina. Thank you"
- Dino Mahoney (poet, performer, teacher, animal-care activist)


"Thank you Maya and Roy, for “Personas” which broke the rules of traditional dance and reshaped them into something raw, strange, and unforgettable. Staged on our little Greek island, the performance felt like an electric shock against the calm backdrop — a clash of worlds that worked brilliantly. You created a piece that was more than choreography; it was a living installation. Movements were unpredictable, layered with emotional tension and flashes of absurdity. At times playful, at times unsettling, you explore identity without spoon-feeding meaning to the audience. Every twist, stumble, gesture, voice and sound seemed both spontaneous and deeply intentional. Inspiring - thank you!"
- Kathrin Wintermeyer (BWL International Marketing & Management)


"How is that sound made? It’s not like any instrument but it’s too expressive to be recorded samples,.. and how is this posture held without falling over? Is it possible without wires?! What objects are even on the stage as part of the set? These questions subsided partly as they were unanswerable, and partly as I became drawn in to the enactments of human relationships. But this was no ‘prince kissing the sleeping princess’ ballet. We were watching the imprints of souls exchanged between lovers.

It being fruitless to ponder the impossibility of the movements or assess the execution of the music, or even evaluate my imagined narrative, I became immersed entirely into my own unfiltered emotional response to the playing out of.. what seemed to be.. two unities becoming one unity, the incorporation into a relationship of two packages of desire and fear and selfishness and joy and love. The lighting and props transported us through lifetimes and the limits of space. Again I let go, and was equally allowing myself, and compelled to follow, a story of life and love that was slowly unfolding to become properly developed and profoundly meaningful.

The effect of the presentation was very deep. The characters and setting in this presentation are personal and universal. During our time with them we visit that place, what Lucinda Williams calls, ‘where the spirit meets the bone’.

Good art is not easy. It’s challenging because it’s neither fun nor obvious. It’s hard work because it is not saying again what has been said too often already. It’s challenging because it’s not superficial or triumphalist. This was good."
- Steve Weeks (visual artist & musician)