© Birgit Hupfeld
Like moths to the flame
(Wie Mücken im Licht)
variable casting, min. 1M
May 1918, Vienna: The last weeks of the Austro Hungarian empire. A young communist writes with charcoal onto the wall of his prison cell. July 1989, Bratislava: On the eve of the "velvet revolution" a man writes letters to his wife who fled to the west. He uses the format of meteorological reports to describe his country's demise - until the time comes when he cannot bear to hear the steps of surveillance, purposefully obvious, anymore. Vienna today, no revolution: a teenager makes breakfast for his siblings, steals in the supermarket, wanders aimlessly through the town. It is easy to reconstruct his trajectory thanks to electronic traces, but why he ends up beating a girl remains a mystery. " What causes people to defend themselves? When does a repressive country illicit resistance, or does such resistance even exist if there is nothing to be hostile against? ... I don't deal with history because of the past, but because of the disintegration and repetition of time. Things that have already been better analyzed can be helpful. The present is, strangely enough, the least helpful of all ... It might be a form of resistance if one creates characters who are resisting," (Anne Habermehl)
World premiere
09.10.2013 Schauspielhaus Wien (Director: Anne Habermehl)
Translations
Italian: Come zanzare nella luce (Translator: Alessandra Griffoni)
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