All of a sudden, something’s off. There’s a wall where a corridor used to be; there’s a bottomless void where just a moment ago the memory of something opened doors to past times. Signposts are the only way to find out of this decaying building now. But what if the helping hand to guide one through darkness is suddenly gone? What if the familiar voice goes silent and the world around us gets lost in dissolution – until, eventually, we do as well?

The issue of how to deal with those in need of care in the face of a deepening nursing crisis affects all of us and will get even more pressing in a not-too-distant future. In their new piece, DARUM dare broach the subject and ask: What does it mean for us as a society not to have enough resources to care for people in need? What does it mean for those affected? Auflösung (‘Dissolution’) wants to counter repression with confrontation and to expose audiences to a perceived loss of control using the immersive means of installation and virtual/mixed reality – offering them to face their own (future) vulnerability through art, to challenge our society’s handling of the sick, dying and elderly and to approach the unknown at least with a vague idea.

Following [EOL]. End of Life, their highly decorated co-production with brut Wien, DARUM’s final work at the brut nordwest venue, is an artistic ‘breakdown’ that once again tackles mortality – only in Auflösung, the architecture will mutate not only in the virtual space.

DARUM, co-headed by directors Victoria Halper and Kai Krösche, was established in 2019 and creates performances, installations, films and works of audio, video and media art, tackling the issues that tend to keep us awake at night. DARUM’s performances were nominated for the NESTROY theatre prize four times and won it twice (in 2023 and 2025). Their virtual reality performance [EOL]. End of Life was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen as one of the ten most remarkable productions of 2024, to the Impulse Theater Festival, to Politik im freien Theater and numerous other renowned festivals; and it will continue touring. In 2025, Victoria Halper and Kai Krösche received the Austrian Outstanding Artist Award in the performing arts category for their work in the context of DARUM.