Lay Me Low looks at the terror of standing still and standing up for yourself or others when physical and emotional balance is a struggle. The performance also ponders on why taking a break, resting and cutting oneself some slack is such a pain today. Hence it looks at the techniques, as well as joys and fears of going down and feeling horizontal.
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From the aristocratic comforts of the chaise longue to the fascination with the torturous bed of nails, the performance struggles with the ableist discomfort of not being able to stand, act and gain. It also wonders why leisure is a luxury achievable only for some. Tricia Hersey writes in Rest Is Resistance: “Resistance is laying down when you have been told to keep going.”
This work attempts to create conditions for the temporary release of the fear of laziness and the anxiety to perform to imagine what else this life could be. For those whose health conditions make them bedridden and horizontal for most of the time, the work will attempt to honour the act of being, as opposed to performing, no matter what.
- TEXT, CHOREOGRAPHY, PERFORMANCE Ania Nowak
- SOUND Justyna Stasiowska
- COSTUME Grzegorz Matląg
- PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Micaela Kuhna Jara Outside eye Julia Plawgo
(Location: in the courtyard)
Additional information
- A production by Ania Nowak in co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE within the frame of Leisure & Pleasure, supported by the Capital Cultural Fund.
- Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
- Media partners: Arts of the Working Class, Berlin Art Link, Rausgegangen, tip Berlin, taz.die tageszeitung.
