David Espinosa, a favourite of audiences at the Venice Biennale, has long been dreaming of a large-scale artistic action. For the time being, though, he lacks the funds for such a project and thus asked his stage designers to build a set at a scale of 1:87, small enough to fit into one single suitcase. Unless they sit in the front row, spectators attending this miniature theatre need opera glasses to follow the story.
David Espinosa is neither puppet maker nor puppet master. He finds his protagonists in the simple figurines crafted for model railways and positions them on a table: strippers, protesters, homeless people and even a Grim Reaper. Moreover, there are soccer players as well, with spectators lolling about on the sidelines. Suddenly, a small child toddles onto the pitch – and everything changes in the blink of an eye. The players kick the young boy, an exhibitionist drops his coat, a female doctor comes running but then is violently sick, and so on … Due to the overlapping scenes, the rigid, lifeless figures release emotions in surprising ways.
Espinosa’s clever subversion of the mundane entails the inevitable question: can we really be sure, do we really know everything there is to know about the simple things that surround us? Take a closer look! The world is dangerous, deceitful and rough. And everything is quite different from what we believe it to be.
This is the first performance by David Espinosa shown at Wiener Festwochen.
Pre-sale only via Wiener Festwochen: www.festwochen.at; T: +43 1 589 22 22
Discussion with the audience on 31 May, following the second performance.
Concept development, director, performance
David Espinosa
Artistic collaborator
África Navarro
Sound and music
Santos Martínez, David Espinosa
Stage design
David Espinosa, Air Models
Tour management
M.O.M./El Vivero
A production by David Espinosa El Local E.C./ C.A.E.T., Barcelona. In co-operation with Generalitat de Catalunya – Departament de Cultura, INAEM – Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte.
brut
Karlsplatz 5, 1010 Wien
The event is sold out.
For audiences aged 14 years and older.
Discussion with the audience on 31 May, following the second performance.
accessible
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)
accessible
Heinestraße 42 , 1020 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern) / S-Bahn: S1, S2, S3, S4, S7 (Praterstern) / Tram: 5 (Praterstern)
accessible
Freyung 8, 1010 Vienna
Subway: U1 (Stephansplatz), U2 (Schottentor), U3 (Herrengasse) / Tram: 1, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 (Schottentor) / Bus: 1A, 2A (Herrengasse U), 3A (Renngasse)
accessible
Arthur-Schnitzler-Platz 1, 1070 Vienna
Subway: U3 (Volkstheater) / Tram: 49 (Volkstheater) / Bus: 48A (Volkstheater)
accessible
Jedlersdorfer Platz 25, 1210 Vienna
Subway U6 (Florisdorf) / S-Bahn: S1, S2, S3, S4, S7 (Floridsdorf) / Tram: 30, 31 (Brünner Straße / Hanreitergasse) / Bus: 30A, 32A (Toni Fritsch Weg)
not accessible
Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)
not accessible
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna