The 31th of January new guests arrived to stay in the Gueststudio during
their Dutch tour of the show ‘The Chinese Room’ which had its premiere in September
2010 at the Korzo theatre in The Hague. Kenneth Flak (Norway, 1975) designed
both the music and the choreography for this show, in which he also performs as
a dancer together with Külli Roosna (Estonia, 1981). The show is a
mixture of dance, images by the Japanese multimedia artist Matsuo Kuhiniko and
interactive light design by Thomas Dotzler.
Trailer 'The Chinese Room'
In ‘The Chinese Room’
Kenneth Flak treats the subject of the evolution of humanity in this era, in
which the role of technology gets bigger and bigger and seems to have the possibility to
even overpower humankind. ‘The Chinese Room’ investigates what it’s like to be
human in a networked reality and what the influence of technology on our human
body and mind is. Is the real essence of being human in one’s physique, one’s
inner self or can it be somewhere else? One can wonder if human strengths and
weaknesses will stay present in a changing world where humans merge with
machines and what will remain of human instincts, will and desire. Can we continue our natural human search
for freedom and reconciliation is this state of being?
You can ask yourself
thousands of questions without any concrete answers while in the meantime the reflecting
on and thinking about a certain subject can be most valuable in the whole
learning process. ‘The Chinese Room’ offers
a lot of space for reflection to the viewer. The controlled strong
bodies of the dancers might make you consider your own body, the lights might
activate your mind, the visual material might remind you of your own part in
contemporary society and the strong vibrating sounds might make you feel like
you’re a part of it all.
Upcoming shows:
14-02
Theater Kikker, Utrecht
Theater Kikker, Utrecht
15-02
Plaza Futura, Eindhoven
Plaza Futura, Eindhoven
17-02
De Gouvernestraat, Rotterdam
De Gouvernestraat, Rotterdam
21,22 and 23-03
Theater-org Konserthus, Kristiansand(NO)
Theater-org Konserthus, Kristiansand(NO)
2 and 3-03
Kanuti Gildi Staal, Talinn(EST)
Kanuti Gildi Staal, Talinn(EST)
After this tour
Kenneth and Külli will travel back to their home base Estonia, to perform
another show together. Their double performance “God’s Studies/After the World”
will premiere on February 28 at the Chamber Hall of the Estonian National Opera.
More information: http://www.korzo.nl/nl/producties/chinese-room
Photos made before the show in Theater Kikker on 13-02, while warming up and checking the lights, the sounds and the space.
