Photographs: Doris Uhlich, Melancholic Ground, 2023. Press photos. Courtesy of the artist © Alexi Pelekanos, 2022.
melancholic ground
A new creation by Doris Uhlich
Premiere
07.05.2023 at Wiener Festwochen 08.05.2023 at Wiener Festwochen 09.05.2023 at Wiener Festwochen 10.05.2023 at Wiener Festwochen
A ship, a castle, a car and a horse. For us as children, the playground is a small world all of our own. Designed for sheer fun, for physical exercise and as a stage-set for vivid fantasies, the playground infrastructure in melancholic ground goes beyond its usual function. Fourteen performers of different generations cavort on the rocking horse and the slide; their movements are executed extremely slowly, in a halting flow; or, dressed in plush costumes, they offer themselves as toys for the others to play on. For her new work, Doris Uhlich, one of Austria’s most acclaimed choreographers internationally, explores the feeling of melancholy. Rather than leading to isolation, melancholic ground allows this state to be experienced collectively. In the absurd Disneyland laid out between climbing frames and sand pits, subtle resistance is offered against the dictates of productivity and the standardisation of bodies.
CREDITS
Concept, Choreography
Doris Uhlich
Performance
Hugo Le Brigand, Pêdra Costa, Adil Embaby, Ann Muller
Andrius Mulokas
Moravia Naranjo
Mzamo Nondlwana
Gabriele Oßwald
Karin Pauer
Florian Reither
Vera Rosner
Wolfgang Sautermeister
Grete Smitaite
Haha Wang
Spatial interventions
Juliette Collas
Marco Tölzer
Costume
Katharina Heistinger
Costume consultation
Ann Muller
DJ, Sound
Boris Kopeinig
Dramaturgical Feedback
Adam Czirak
Social Media
Esther Brandl
Company Management, Production
Margot Wehinger
International Distribution
Something Great
Co-production
Wiener Festwochen
insert Tanz und Performance GmbH
Funded by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry Republic of Austria, Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport