(Ob)Sessions

A production of THE BURGTHEATER, Vienna
Premiered at the KASINO THEATER, September 2021
Tickets: https://www.burgtheater.at/produktionen/obsessions

Concept, Choreography, Directing & Stage Design SAAR MAGAL

Costumes & Stage Design SLAVNA MARTINOVIĆ

Stage Design Assistant LAURA MALMBERG

Soundtrack Design SAAR MAGAL, NIKOLAJ EFENDI

Light Design NORBERT GOTTWALD

Dramaturgy GÖTZ LEINEWEBER, MAIKE MÜLLER

Assistant Director THYL HANSCHO

With ELISABETH AUGUSTIN , ANDRÉANNE BROSSEAU , GAIL SKRELA , ARTHUR KLEMT , CHRISTOPH LUSER , CAMILLA ORLANDI , KAJA PISZCZEK , THALES WEILINGER , PAUL WOLFF-PLOTTEGG

Photos KAROLINA MIERNIK, SLAVNA MARTINOVIĆ

If I tell you how old I am, what do I mean? Who is this “I”: body, mind, soul, or all three in one? Unlike my brain, my mind is connected with the mind of others, present and past, across thousands of years. Demons sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear: My mind is beyond time, and Earth 2021 is not my home. What kind of future do we have, if we do everything in our power to stay young for longer and longer? By refusing to age, are we actually declaring war on youth? What expectations are placed on the Female Desire? To which norms are bodies subjected in the patriarchy? And how can we free ourselves of them?

The Israeli choreographer and director Saar Magal generates images, stories, movements, sounds and sensations in her performance. Her aim is to allow the audience to feel their way, both intellectually and emotionally, toward the edges of what we regard as the measure of the mortal human being. By examining various rituals, myths and religions, new forms of perception, nonconformism and surrender are created. The myth of the Garden of Eden – featuring the trees of life and morals, the gaining of knowledge and the forbidden fruit – encourages us to confront our notions of sin, sexuality, revenge, desire and power, our obsession with youth and our fear of aging.