The immersive performance is set in a mirthless dystopian world. The audience is lured to venture on a quest for joy to explore its various virtues.

In four stages the audience is (mis)guided through different worlds of numb, fake or desperate joy, where performers play with their memories of ecstatic happiness - only to experience such in an extravagant Grande Finale.

Supported by

Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

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Gahrens & Battermann

In the hopeless, some individuals have managed desperately to cling on to their memory of joy - until they got stuck in it.

They now live in those joyous moments and glorious days of the past, unable to connect their memories to their present state. They glitched out on what once made them human in the first place...

Performers

Joice Biazoto
Cosima Cassel
Sebastian Dráb
Johanna Kretz
Elise Magnin
Elena Remmer
Sarah Schäfer
Elias Schneider
Judith Siering
Katharina von Sohlern

Stage Design

Concept: Sarah Schäfer
Implementation: Elena Remmer

costume Concept

Sarah Schäfer

Otherworldly Nymphs and Sirens seduce the audience with promises of sweet adventures and relaxation into their wellness world. But their shiny, beautiful appearance is hiding shallow and selfish creatures. Feeding on memories of joy, they are waiting to suck out the good hearts of people and their inner beauty.

Did they play a part in the transformation into the monotone dystopia that, so many seem to have fallen into?

Performers

Christian Ahlers
Lukas Fingerle
David Gauffin
Katrina Günther
Daniel Stalter
Lisa Wahl

stage Design

Katrina Günther

Costume Concept

Katrina Günther
Lisa Wahl

Music

David Gauffin
Katrina Günther

Function for the sake of function – most of the humanity has been shaped into an emotionless but highly efficient workforce that gladly performs all tasks necessary in a post-joy world.

A world in which monotony and numbness reign. People are lost in a joyless void, repeating the same tasks, connected yet still apart. But their system is bugged ...

Performers

Alessandro Casamenti
Sönke Hartmann
Lisa Kirchner
Saskia Kollbach
Paul Laborderie
Josefine Matthey
Anna Mayer
Andi Richter
Ania Rok
Anna Schwarz
Manuela Villinger

stage Design

Andi Richter
Ania Rok

Costume concept

Andi Richter
Ania Rok

Collective memories of the purest joy are securely kept in an archive, while all creatures are on their own Quest for Joy. But some sparks might have escaped the mad registrar ...

This station will be accentuated by the implementation of an audiovisual AR Installation by NEEEU Spaces which enables the audience to explore memories through the usage of an application on their phones. This makes reference to the excessive usage of modern media devices and their impacts on mental health and well-being.

Performers &
Costume Design

Laurin Assfalg
Bene Keßel
Arvid Schwerin

STage Design

Laurin Assfalg
Bene Keßel

Music

Benjamin Johnstone

AR App

NEEEU Spaces GmbH

UMA Hologramm

Performer:
Britta Engelhardt
Film:
David Gauffin
Animation:
Sebastian Drab
Editing:
Katharina von Sohlern

Guides

(Mis)guided by four narrators, the guests are introduced and led through a world where only their joyful memories can protect them to stay happy in a place where heartbeats stopped.

Performers

Kyra Edeker
Marcel Hösl
Filip Piotr Rutkowski
Johnny Questions

Direction & Concept

Filip Piotr Rutkowski

Sparks of joy

In an epic finale, the worlds, at last, come together led by the sparks of joy. These were the only ones that were able to trick the system and capture the last bits of joy. In a firework of emotions, the creatures let their hulls fall and open themselves to let the light back into their lives.