Florian Feigl + Christopher Hewitt: Dissolved – the Uncanny Valley – Sophiensæle | Independent Theater in Berlin
Florian Feigl + Christopher Hewitt:
Dissolved – the Uncanny Valley
Dissolved – the Uncanny Valley
Sophiensaele’s historic Kantine and a gallery space in the converted Victorian Ragged School Beaconsfield in London merge and overlap to create a new space that is half there, half not there, caught in a perpetual cross-fade. A door opens wide in one space and slams shut in another. A wall exists and doesn’t, putting up an invisible barrier.
Performers give up their bodies and identities into this virtual world. Merging with the London artists they create enigmatic mixed creatures, that exist in a parallel reality only for the instant of the dissolve. Actions and their digital echoes can be watched simultaneously on the stage and the screen, and invite speculation on the instability of culture and identity in a time when borders between traditional and virtual realities fade. People and objects find they are both one thing and another, sometimes dissolving together to make a third, in a disconcerting, arresting and occasionally hilarious
performance.
For Dissolved, Berlin based artists Florian Feigl and Christopher Hewitt collaborate with the pioneers of telematic theatre, legendary British performance group Station House Opera. A new video streaming technology, developed specifically for the piece, allows to dissolve the two versions of the piece into one another. Audiences watch both the live performance and its traces in the virtual world at the same time.
OPENING HOURS INSTALLATION
march 6-8, 7.30pm-8.30pm with ticket
march 12 + 19, 12am - 6p, free entrance
march 13-15 + march 20-22, 12am - 7.30pm free entrance,
march 13-15 + march 20-22, 7.30pm - 8.30pm with ticket
MARCH 14, ARTIST TALK AFTER THE SHOW
ARTISTIC DIRECTION Florian Feigl, Christopher Hewitt PERFORMANCE Claudia Splitt, Jessica Lauren Elizabeth Taylor, Florian Feigl DRAMATURGY Jörn J. Burmester ASSISTANCE PRODUCTION Joy Harder ASSISTANCE Sebastian Gisi STAGE fri. möbel und häuser
Produced by Florian Feigl und Christopher Hewitt in Co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE. Funded by Hauptstadtkulturfonds. The London production is developed by an AHRC Fellowship at the Central London School of Speech and Drama. Supported by the National Lottery, the Arts Council England and the British Council. Production: Arts Admin. Special thanks to our media partners Jungle World und taz.die tageszeitung.
Foto © Florian Feigl