Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break

Performances between absurd theatre and exquisite tableaux vivants: After the Miet Warlop retrospective in 2017, which played to enthusiastic audiences, the successful performance and installation artist from Belgium is now coming back to HAU with a new German premiere. In the HAU co-production “Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break,” Warlop works with the idea of a modern, western version of the whirling dance known from Sufi dervishes. Three performers spin in a circle for 45 minutes – a movement that in Sufi ceremonies is meant to induce a state of religious ecstasy. Keeping with Miet Warlop’s style, the whirling is enriched by making music. It becomes an experiment in perception, a dizzy feeling, a reflection on the spirit of our time. The mixture of whirling dance, recitation and concert moves on the thin line between self-control and loss of control. How can we find a balance between self-control and devotion? What shape are the spirits that write the story of our life?