theatrale subversion: Der flüchtige Körper, Foto: Peter Kreibich

theatrale subversion | Der flüchtige Körper – unscene

Imagine that you are in the auditorium of a theatre. The auditorium light dims down. Darkness. Schematically you can see three objects on the stage. Three white steles, about one meter wide and two meters high. Perhaps this structure reminds you of the silhouette of a big city or a museum at night. A threatening sound swells, followed by a short, deep blow. You feel the bass in your stomach, because the subwoofer is located directly under the grandstand you’re sitting on. A spotlight goes on. In its cone of light, a figure sits with its back against the left of the three objects. A person all in white. Maybe a woman. She looks exhausted. Lost. Frozen in a freeze frame. Another deep tone resounds, another slight blow to the pit of the stomach – the light goes out. The piece begins.

In 2019, the group of artists, called theatrale subversion, developed the theatre performance “The Fleeting Body” in co-production with HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts, among others – a scenic reflection on the construction of bodies on the run and the own (white?) view of these bodies. They were invited to perform this production two more times in Dresden. Then came the virus. In “Der flüchtige Körper – unscene” Romy Weyrauch and Michael Neil McCrae, who together form the artistic direction of the theatrical subversion, face the challenge of not being able to show their piece. Without their fellow players. Without stage design. Without the necessary light, sound and video technology. What you are left with is your own presence, your own voices, a garden as a stage and the imaginative power of your audience.