Alles ist Plüsch – Ein Leben in Seufzern

by Fiese Matenten, Katrin Hilbe, Martina Morger
Performed: - Dorfstrasse 24, LI-9495 Triesen, Nov 24 - Dec 04, 2021
Category:

ALL IS PLUSH – A LIFE IN SIGHS is a collaborative devised piece of the Vienna based theatre collective Fiese Matenten, myself and Martina Morger, exploring the main themes of the first year of the Pandemic: isolation, loneliness, death, but also romance in the time of masking up, conspiracy theories, joys and sorrows. What do terms like “system relevance” or “essential” imply, how have we coped with social distancing, masking and moving from live performances to virtual tools?

Nine months of research and devising work later, we created a powerful journey through time, reflected also in the media used: The audience was greeted by a camera upon entering, the unseen cast commented pleasantly, welcomed them, as they showed their vaccination cards, disinfected their hands. A dispenser of candy was right next to the disinfectant spray – the pandemic requirements are not fun, but as we come together, have a sweet!

The performance was in four parts, traveling through our senses, a texting film with quotes from humans in the pandemic, various rules and regulations, notices. This was followed by an audio part, where the audience listened to voices telling stories, expressing their experiences. Part three was a video, scripted by the team, a funny, all-too-real exploration of what can happen when you audition, interview, present on Zoom. Then finally came the live part, which was the main part of the evening: live theatre again, finally!

A multitude of characters were presented in a collage by the Plüsch performers, including songs, dance, quick sketches and some longer stories:

This is how we lived, but we all made it, and now we are here together processing this strange time with each other in the comfort and delight that theatrical community brings. It was beautiful, gratifying, and our audiences loved it.

Creative Team:
Production: Fiese Matenten Collective, TAK Theater Liechtenstein, Gasometer Triesen.
Script Development: Fiese Matenten Collective, Katrin Hilbe, Martina Morger
Direction: Katrin Hilbe
Assistant Director: Zeno Langenbahn
Choreogphraphy, Scenic&Costume Design: Martina Morger
Lighting Design: Stefan Marti
Video: Hanna Hofstätter, Lukas Zerbst
Composition & Sound Design: Markus Jakisic

Cast:
In all roles: Claudia Carus, Benjamin Kornfeld, Christiani Wetter

Photography: Nico Ehrenteit (featured image above), Ilja Mess (Production photography)




Press

"Run, don´t walk to see this entertaining, amusing and at the same time thought-provoking evening of theatre, where even Corona becomes a "Covid-19 Care Package", where the actors do a dance-off to "It's my life" and they sing of a spring in Berlin, knocking on her door and it all sounds like Nicole's "a little bit of Peace" (Bravo: music by Markus Jakisic). And an extra bravo for the perfect direction by Katrin Hilbe. This is theatre, contemporary, dark with a lot of humor and full of life. At the end, the three actors buzz the audience into the finale with confetti bombs and make everyone's sighs look old, because the production's coherent subtitle is: "A life in sighs". Despite everything, life remains a plush oasis of well-being (Bravo Martina Morger for the scenic design) if we let it. It's always a question of perspective. "If the last five years are an exact reflection of the next five years - would that be a jackpot for you or would you burst into tears" - this is the question the "Fiese Matenten" throw into the audience. Two times 20 seconds to think about it was not enough for an answer - only a repeated visit helps."
Anita Grüneis, kulturzeitschrift