Ariel Efraim Ashbel & friends

Moonstruck: In Praise of Shadows

Duration 70 min.

Language English  Understandable without language 

Who cares about the stature of man when we can go to the moon? Originating from Hannah Arendt’s questions, “Moonstruck” immerses itself in the dark side of the renaissance to which the territorial expansion of the western colonial powers also belongs. Long before the current space barons flew to the moon, it served as a projection surface, a phantasmagorical colony for Columbus or the Spanish conquistadors. Inspired by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki’s essay “In Praise of Shadows” Ariel Efraim Ashbel & friends celebrate the performative potential of darkness, its textures and nuances in an interplay of performers, light, objects, and sound. On a mad journey through a rugged terrain of reflective surfaces which is as strange as it is humorous, the light and dark sides of the terrestrial desire for the moon meet. While shadowy robots dance to gentle harp music, Martha Graham and Queen Isabella exchange caresses in the twilight. A thunderous show full of cosmic changes in the weather, which calls up the fantasies and mirages of western humanism in order to ultimately confront them with the realities of the planet that serves as our home.

  • Cast

    Direction

    Ariel Efraim Ashbel

    By and with

    Jessica Gadani, Cassie Augusta Jørgensen, Adam Linder, Tatiana Saphir

    Music

    Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi)

    Costume

    Marquet Lee

    Assistance costume

    Kristjana Björg Reynisdóttir, Laetitia Tshombe

    Lighting

    Joseph Wegmann

    Stage technician

    Jonas Droste

    Dramaturgy

    Petra Poelzl

    Assistance direction

    Katharina Joy Book

    Production

    Anna von Glasenapp

    Thanks to

    Ethan Braun, Alona Rodeh, Senthuran Varatharajah

  • Credits

Further Information

Visitor note

Production: Ariel Efraim Ashbel and friends. Co-production: HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Funded by: Hauptstadtkulturfonds. Supported by: Gessnerallee Zürich.

Notes:

Attention: Strong light effects are used during the performance.
Due to an extensive testing regime for SARS-CoV-2, the performers can also move on stage in this production without minimum distance.

Past dates

  • Premiere

    Wed 3.11.

    from 19:00 to 20:30 HAU1

  • Thu 4.11.

    from 19:00 to 20:30 HAU1

  • Fri 5.11.

    from 19:00 to 20:30 HAU1

  • Sat 6.11.

    from 19:00 to 21:30 HAU1

Location

HAU1
Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 Berlin

There are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Access to the Parkett by means of a separate entrance with lift when necessary. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Tickets for wheelchair users and accompanying persons can be booked via the ticketing system. If you need any help, please contact our Ticketing & Service team at +49 (0)30 259004-27 or send us an email at 
tickets@hebbel-am-ufer.de.