On December 8, 2007, Germany’s most important tabloid and Europe’s best selling newspaper, was proclaiming with big letters on its front page: “Tonight, lights out from 20:00 to 20:05!” In the name of climate change everybody in the country was invited to make this small gesture and exercise his or her basic democratic right. “5 minutes for a better world” was the explicative subtitle of the action. By performing this small symbolic action of switching off the lights people were part of the large community who cares for climate change and who is determined to solve this problem together. For the time of five minutes…

“Tonight, lights out!” proposes to transpose this action from the level of an entire country to the closed space of a theatre. The stage is empty, filled with a multitude of light bulbs connected to as many cables. There are as many light bulbs as there are members of the audience. There are bulbs everywhere in and around the stage. Above the stage, above the audience, on the ceiling, on the ground, on the walls. Every spectator receives one light switch. Each light switch is connected to one bulb. So it becomes clear that every member of the audience is master of one bulb. The spectators are part of an installation, which they control individually and collectively. The complex dramaturgy of the play is organized in a way that it tries to establish a consensus in the community by giving every single of its members a responsibility and by convincing them of the necessity of solidarity. It is about the creation of a belief. The belief that by accomplishing a simple task together they can truly change something.

CONCEPT, TEXT, DIRECTION David Weber-Krebs HOST Maarten Westra Hoekzema RESEARCH, ASSISTENCE Marie Urban COMPANY MANAGEMENT Ingrid Vranken / Infinte Endings SOUND Coordt Linke Conception, Installation Hans Westendorp TEchnics Martin Kaffarnik

Produced by stichting INFINITE ENDINGS in coproduction with STUCK, Zeitraumexit and Theater Zeebelt. Kindly supported by Frascati, Amsterdam. Funded by NFPK, AFK and flämische Behörden / Kunsten en Erfgoed.

Photo © Marie Urban