“No road network is as extensive as that of the imagination. And those who travel through it can certainly perish, but never injure another.” Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852)
Swarm & Bath by Marie create a city walk on the border between fiction and reality. A surreal journey that leads past places where the tumult of the city, the ringing of a bike bell, the starting of an engine tilts into the soundtrack of a film...
A colourful signpost leads groups of up to 15 people through a particular city district. Musical and theatrical interventions direct the viewer's gaze. Everyday city situations thus get a touch of magic, sometimes subtle, sometimes bombastic and dramatic. A surprising viewing and listening experience, suitable for all ages! An earworm that only passes by once.
What do we see when we look? What do we hear when we listen? Environment, memory and expectation determine the latitude of our interpretation. Often it takes very little to change that playing space. Sometimes the images are more complex and we have to give a hand to the observer in ourselves by isolating - or even manipulating - a scene or a sound from its environment.
This looks a bit like a cactus is a trail through which we want to exercise the audience and ourselves to look beyond first impressions, seek associations and be charmed by minimal events in places where you do not expect them. With the help of music and theatre, along a course through an everyday city neighbourhood, a piece of reality is redefined in different places. We play with sightlines or freeze a situation. We direct the viewer's gaze through music or small interventions of which it is never exactly clear to what extent they are accidental or theatrical.
credits:
‘This looks a bit like a cactus’ is a performance by Zwerm, Bad van Marie and musical theatre WALPURGIS. In co-production with DE SINGEL and with the support of the Flemish Community.
https://luminousdash.be/live/zwerm-bad-van-marie-walpurgis-dit-lijkt-een-beetje-op-een-cactus-antwerpen-22-09-23-24-09-23/
https://www.concertnews.be/recensietonen.php?id=5532&kop=Dit%20lijkt%20een%20beetje%20op%20een%20cactus%20★★★★1/2&waar=Stuivenbergwijk
