Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat

Between August 23rd and September 14th, Theater an der Ruhr opens its doors and gardens for the public to be part of an exhibition that brings together a diverse array of visual, virtual, sonic, tactile and participatory art works, performances and installations, reflecting on the intricate nature of secrets – an experience to behold, divulge, hide, keep or share. 

The art trail is open every day of the event and can be experienced by visitors with theatre tickets!

Works and performances by: Cătălina Bucos, Bidisha Das, Karen Fritz, Chanmin Kim, Hojin LEE, Tongtong Li, Jiahui Liang, Duoni Liu, Shuai Liu, Bernard Mescherowksy, Mohamad Moe Sabbah, Alexandra Sakir and Artiom Zavadovsky.

In the whispers of a digital night,

Lies a puzzle out of sight.

Inner demons take their flight,

Mystery in pixels, hidden from light.

It dances in what's known and not,

A code unsolved, a tangled plot,

Deep consciousness and thoughts that rot.

It hides in crime, love, trauma: An intimate spot.

Guarded by states and those who glean,

This enigma remains within.

Once glimpsed, it's a weight, a heavy scene,

Forever archived and never unseen.

In shadows where whispers blend,

Lies solitude and dissociation, my friend.

In the park, underwater, in light,

I will haunt your wandering sight.

So tell me, dear friend, what am I?

With the opening of the art trail on 23 August, the theatre is also celebrating the start of our GEHEIMNIS season. We are looking forward to the following concert performances:

Jojo Sélavy - Herzen Blau

With his stage character Jojo Sélavy, Johannes Hoffmann explores a new form of music performance between poetry, performance and pop. Jojo interweaves text, body and sound to create enigmatic slogans and proclamations from the world of Herzen Blau.

W@NDER

The duo of Bidisha Das and Karen Fritz give bacteria a voice. Through found sounds of bacteria (recorded graphene), notes that simulate expotential growth, electronic synthesizers, a poem of unknown authorship (Eugene Thacker - In The Dust Of This Planet), zither and conch shell, they take the audience on a journey through microscopic landscapes.

We play in bacterial costumes in a tent that is illuminated from the inside with a short-distance projector on which images of Bidisha's bacteria can be seen. The projector image also works in daylight. In the very short conversion phase after the concert, we need the help of about 2 people to lift the instruments, projector and the tent (it consists of a screwable frame and B1 foil) from the stage and place it out of the way. It can be easily moved by three or, better, four people. Later that evening, we will dismantle it again.