Existence Theatre, co-founded by interdisciplinary artists Bello Benischauer and Elisabeth Eitelberger, presents 'Aufbruchsgeister | Departing Minds' at the 2022 Fringe World Festival.
The 'Departing Minds' have one goal – not to feel foreign in their own skin. Throughout the performance, audiences will face close-up vulnerability and be made more aware of the effects micro-racism and stereotypical stigmatisation have on someone no longer wanting to turn a blind eye.
“A few people find an app that promises them a place that would give them new hope and meaning, so they click on it and land in an ancient forest in real life,” Bello Benischauer explains of the work. “The piece is about how we reinvent ourselves in uncertain times and learn to know our ways of being from a different perspective despite the struggles that we need to face.”
The original seed of the work comes from the concept of the meeting of a group of people with other ideas for this world – ideas not concerned with destroying the world but rather for cultivating its future. The app, called 'Aufbruchsgeister, Departing Minds', is what brings them together.
So who is a show such as this written for?
“A sophisticated audience, who want to see something contemporary and who usually may go see things at Perth Festival or somewhere else in Australia or internationally,” Bello answers. “But who also want to see uncensored and intellectually stimulating art that can’t be classified, that speaks out and has a European touch.”
Bello is excited to present the performance, starring Liv Richardson, Emma Benischauer, Ainsley Marr, Aileigh Rose McKee and Elisabeth Eitelberger, to Fringe World audiences. He's also performing live sound in the show.
“[We are looking forward to] testing the waters with new ideas, and to be sold out. [We hope] that many, many people attend and become 'departing minds' with us.”
'Aufbruchsgeister | Departing Minds' plays Old Customs House 14-15 and 21-22 January.
