The Image

In The Order of Things, Michel Foucault introduces three ways in which we usually encounter a phenomenon: what we see, what others have observed and relayed, and what others imagine or naively believe. This great tripartite division of the observation, the document and the fable is used as an introduction to the performance. The audience is divided into three smaller groups in the foyer. They each go somewhere in the theater building or around the not yet accessible actual theater space. They are guided by one presenter. They receive a specific (and absolutely contrasting) introduction to what they will later collectively experience in the theater space.

In a second step, the audience gathers in the theater space. A process has already started here before they entered. It creates an ambivalent image. This image is a convulsion of numerous processes that mingle with each other to their ultimate consequence. It is a kind of aleph, “the place where all places in the universe, seen from all angles, are found without being confused” (José Luis Borges). But it is shown to the public too briefly. Too short to understand, too short to understand. Due to the different introductions they received, the spectators understood this image in a completely different way. The Image (working title) is a reflection on how the mediating device can influence the understanding of a theater piece.

In a third moment, I would like to find a form for the audience to think about what happened. It is the creation of an exchange forum in which new smaller groups are created. The aim is to create working groups that are involved in conversations by the three performers and carry the different testimonies.