HUMANITY REENACTED

Photos by Adrian Thomson

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.

CURATORIAL | VIDEO | PHOTOS

The first few PERFORMANCES took place on 02./03./04. Feb 2023 at PSAS, 22 Pakenham St Street, Fremantle – duration: approx. 108 min – no interval – 15+ 

Review: Herald

CURATORIAL

STORY: A young king tries to save his kingdom but he lacks strength to make decisions. Intrigue, abuse of power, submission and more can be found in the play, which brings out the good, the bad and the repugnant. How far is man really willing to go to get what he needs or what he wants? A confused society tries to adjust to sudden change in search of meaning, identity and belonging. The performers explore the favourable and the shadows of various archetypes, which appear as ruler, warrior, hunter, lover, mother, people and the innocent, in scenes depicting birth, solstice, market, hunting, the dream world, war, revolution, execution and a new beginning. The audience becomes part of the people, voyeur and witness, invited to take responsibility for how they react. 

CONCEPT: Existence Theatre’s latest piece is storytelling of a different kind. It is highly topical and illuminates humanity from today’s perspective. The extraordinary formation of performers confronts the ups and downs of human emotions and leads the audience in a fascinating way into a space of connectedness and belonging around a story that presents you with king, warrior, hunter, lover, mother, people and the innocent. They come across rituals, responsibilities and uprooted identification with tradition. All of this shows the core of human vulnerability as a strength and not a target for stigma. In the end, the human bond wins and breaks all boundaries. No stigma, no label, just diversity.

The artists’ theatrical work is known for creating highly aesthetic and immersive experiences for its audience, being community-oriented and socially engaged. Their work is seen as an extension of European performance art with a focus on Australian culture and identity. HUMANITY REENACTED, created over a year, contains multidisciplinary elements from theatre, music and visual arts. Experiencing Existence Theatre you’ll find yourself drawn back into a fascinating narrative, this time encountering reawakened archetypes in a world of love, passion, sorrow, power and devotion. A gripping performance that encourages the audience to find their own story within.

CONTEXT: “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 that we may end at last the cycle of violence that has marred our history.” (Serlin, 2020; Walsh, 2001)

FROM an INTERVIEW with the director Bello Benischauer:

“The piece is based on a confrontation with humanity. As an artist, there is really no other way to reflect on what has happened worldwide in recent years than to develop a larger and more complex work that deals with what is happening right now, what gets repeated, and what changes affect us. The many ambiguities that we have been exposed to in recent years, the enormous constraints that were brought on by newly prescribed structures, immediate change of regulations, all of this has left social wounds that cannot be quickly healed. HUMANITY REENACTED pictures a confused society that tries to adjust to sudden change in search of meaning, identity and belonging.

I wanted to write a piece that reflects the present and the future, but make it sound like an old play, when there was no globalisation in that sense. A young king comes to power and tries to save his kingdom. But he lacks the strength to make decisions. Intrigue, abuse of power, submission and much more can be found in the play, which brings out the good, the bad and the repugnant. How far is man really willing to go to get what he needs or what he wants?

Different characters explore the favourable and the shadows of various archetypes, which appear as ruler, warrior, hunter, lover, mother, the people and the innocent, who are at work and meet in scenes depicting birth, solstice, market, hunting, the dream world, war, revolution, execution and a new beginning. The audience becomes part of the people and becomes a voyeur and witness, invited to take responsibility for how they react.

From my point of view, it’s our biggest project so far, it’s philosophical, poetic and to some extent political. Of course, the production of this work was only possible because other people got involved and took the time and effort to work on it. I write my pieces from the gut. Our performers invest a lot of energy in the whole thing. The magic unfolds in the implementation, in the joint development of what causes a process in the creation. It takes the utmost discipline, perseverance, and extraordinary talent from everyone to perform those 108 minutes. I’m convinced that if someone watches this show, they won’t forget it for a long time and maybe they will feel that some things in their life are not so important. Because what really counts at the end of the day is all of us in our dealings with one another from person to person, and most importantly face to face.

HUMANITY REENACTED was written, directed and produced over the last year. Nine international/WA based performers of multicultural backgrounds, with and without prior professional artistic training are involved. The work includes multidisciplinary elements from the Visual Arts, from Music and from Theatre. It is site-specifically designed and the PS with its unique architecture helps accentuate the work’s layers through sound, visual projections, unique stage set and costume design. It provides an open atmosphere that suits the works’ experimental aspects.”

EXISTENCE THEATRE’S GENERAL AIM: Existence Theatre is a unique performance theatre based in Fremantle. Their work investigates urgent, contemporary themes and stands for gender equality, diversity and cultural tolerance and against stigma and label and is seen as an extension of European performance art with a focus on Australian culture and identity. Physical touch through dance and crossing emotional boundaries between performers and audience are significant elements of Existence Theatre. Their work is known to be site-specific, poignant, powerful, poetic, surreal and immersive.

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VIDEO

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PHOTOS

Photos by Corey James

Photos by Adrian Thomson

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Tags: curiosity, mixed media, performances