HUMANITY REENACTED
It critically questions a global unfolding of uprooted identification with tradition and ritual and how this shapes today’s people and the individual.
This recently written and highly topical piece by Existence Theatre is a philosophical examination about culture and humanity. It depicts how the phenomenon of war uses fear evoking behaviours to feed destructive forces that overpower and manipulate people and whole nations.
HUMANITY REENACTED dives into a performative re-experiencing of humanity’s mistakes. The work expresses how collective suffering has severe consequences on the human psyche and life as such.
PERFORMANCE: 02./03./04. Feb 2023 – 8pm PSAS, 22 Pakenham St Street, Fremantle, TICKETS
duration: approx. 108 min – no interval – 15+ bar and doors open from 7:30pm
Previous reviews: Herald |
8 SCENES
SOLSTICE | MARKET | HUNT | SLEEP CYCLE
WAR | REVOLUTION | EXECUTION | A NEW BEGINNING
Archetypal Characters:
ÉAMON (young ruler, king) performed by Jack Hagan
VICTORIA (goddess of the hunt) performed by Eden McCombe
ATHINA (the innocent goddess of wisdom and peace) performed by Emma Benischauer
ARTEMIS (lover) performed by Shenae Coppola
BRIAN (warrior) performed by Bugs Boyd
ANGEL (mother) performed by Elisabeth Eitelberger
THE PEOPLE (common folk) performed by Mayra Dinelli & Jônia Guimarães
PROLOGUE
Human existence is based on rules,
we would love to change them,
but aren’t allowed to do so!
now we express what has happened to us in the past
how we felt and how we feel now and how we will feel
what really happened to us and what will happen to us
how we dealt with it and how we will deal with it
how we’ve been and who we will be
how can we remember and who can remember
is it different now, or will it be different?
who are we and who did we become?
who feels safe and will we feel safe?
what is humanity?
what is humanity in the future of this world?
what should I remember?
we get to know a new world by moving in old patterns.
this idea has no future. update not supported.
all guidelines have failed.
only our will survives on a spiritual level.
This is what remains…
CONTEXT: The extraordinary formation of Existence Theatre’s performers once again face an urgent topic that engages with the ups and downs of human emotions, leading the audience in mesmerising ways into a space of connectedness and belonging. Carrying a seed of hope. Strong performance unique for WA.
“In an age of increased interconnectedness, we are challenged by natural and manmade disasters from around the globe. The clash of cultures brings misunderstandings and conflict. The arts can ‘help us search again not only for the meaning of life but also the purpose of our individual and collective experience… for ways we might re-create ourselves anew as a human species, so that we may end at last the cycle of violence that has marred our history’.” (Serlin, 2020; Walsh, 2001)