After the premiere – Festspielhaus: existential questions in the “Garden of Earthly Delights”

In a desert-like environment, a white bus stops and eight different characters emerge. They look around hesitantly at their new surroundings; In the middle is a human-sized egg. Together they form circles on chairs, play music with each other and read individual poems – except for one person who was unable to attend. His poems are displayed on screen. It's one of the moments in this piece that makes the audience smile.

But there is much more to performing than that. In his creations, director Koisen asks about the rules of building society and how humanity deals with the environment. One traveler writes about anxiety, another about descending into the circles of hell. The texts are very poetic, and the movements are childish, playful and aesthetic at the same time.

Democracy must be achieved first

The title of the piece, “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” actually refers to the 500-year-old painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch, created during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The piece fits into the final section of the Tangente Festival – Democracy. The 15th-century painting is considered a major work in art history. It is a surreal version of heaven, sin and hell. You don't see the same image in a theatrical presentation, even if you gradually feel like you're looking at it. Different elements are constantly being added at the same time, and the audience is drawn into the stories, no matter where they look.

The image that inspired this creation is actually surprisingly timeless and fits with our current self-image in the world – which is often characterized by insecurities and fears. Over the course of the evening, the eight stranded people organize themselves into the dystopia in which they find themselves. Everything is done quite democratically – if something new is played, everyone is asked in advance if they agree – d'accord in French.

This works, but there are also differences. Everyone participates in shaping the time they have to spend together through songs or oral contributions. Until they finally dismantled their coach as a team to use as a stage to showcase artistic talent. But it is by no means just about the fears and anxieties of humanity. The heroes try to create a kind of utopia for themselves out of the dystopia and encourage us to experiment with our hopes and dreams.

With the election just around the corner, a piece like this couldn't be more thought-provoking — and even smile-inducing.