HAS BEEN Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Martin Zimmermann

Time knows no mercy and decay leaves its mark on the stage, resulting in cracks in the human facade. In this tragicomic performance, both protagonists try to ward off decline: time and again they attempt to repair these cracks in their crumbling self-image and keep up appearances. Behind every attempt at masking lies the same restlessness: how do we deal with getting older? And what happens when the curtain finally falls?

Martin Zimmermann and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, two renowned artists who have been shaping contemporary circus, dance and theatre for more than 25 years, cast a humorous yet clear look at the effects of transience in their first collaboration and reflect on their own artistic mortality. Following the logic of decay, the duo playfully dismantles the cultural myth of faded glory.

In this performance, Cherkaoui and Zimmermann are accompanied by musician and composer Alexandre Dai Castaign, singer Kaspy N’dia and performer Kazutomi Tsuki Kozuki. Together they create a universe in which Swiss Dadaism and Belgian surrealism meet, in which laws of nature are defied and movement patterns derail.