nicht schlafen

A group of men gathers around some dead horses to perform a ritual. The area of the archaic cult is bounded by a giant blanket. And amongst the men there is one woman. Is this the staging of a new Rite of Spring? Will a woman be sacrificed once more to atone for failing masculinity?

For his new production, Alain Platel, who was most recently a guest at the Berliner Festspiele with his “Coup Fatal” and “En avant, marche!”, joined forces with visual artist Berlinde De Bruyckere and composer Steven Prengels. Austrian composer Gustav Mahler’s work was their starting point, in particular the period from the turn of the century to his death in 1911 – years of uncertainty that led old Europe into existential crises and finally into the great catastrophe of World War I. It was in the nervousness and aggressiveness, passion and yearning for a lost harmony that is expressed by Mahler's music that Platel discovered a match for the images he seeks in his work.

In composer Steven Prengels’ soundscapes, Mahler’s music comes up against African polyphonic chants, the sounds of cowbells and sleeping animals. The stage setting, which was created by Berlinde De Bruyckere, evokes an aura of chaos and destruction that continues in the solos, duos and group choreographies of the nine dancers: a dance of life and death.