‘If I Was Real’ – Reconstruction

However, Toula Limnaios does not translate the text into images, but instead allows its atmosphere and absurd situations to flow into the production. Bodies, shadows and live projections interweave to create multi-layered images that defy clear interpretation. The result is a danced essay – open to new perspectives, poetic and enigmatic.


In 2026, Toula Limnaios and Ralf R. Ollertz will celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Berlin dance company.

A festival lasting several weeks will honour three decades of artistic creation – the reconstruction of ‘if I was real’ from 3–6 and 10–13 December 2025 at HALLE Tanzbühne Berlin will give the audience a foretaste.

About the play

‘There is no love for life without despair in life’ - Albert Camus

On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of Albert Camus' death, cie. toula limnaios presents a reconstruction of ‘if I was real’ from 2013, inspired by his early essay ‘L'Envers et l'Endroit’ (English title: ‘Light and Shadow’). For Camus, light and shadow reflect the struggle between emotion and rationality, a tension that also forms the core of the piece.

‘if I was real’ explores the paradoxes and ambiguities in situations of human alienation and isolation. Fragmentary images unfold a mysterious world full of hidden connections. What initially seems strange becomes increasingly familiar – in a way that cannot be put into words. The dancers immerse themselves in hidden rituals and balance between reality and dream. The choreography plays with illusions and sensuality without committing to fixed meanings. Sensory impressions remain open to association and retain their original beauty.

‘A round dance of festive, wild beauty’ (Frank Schmid, rbb Kulturradio)

‘A panorama of fragmentary images, dreamlike, bizarre.’ (Elena Philipp, tanzraumberlin)

• Concept/Choreography Toula Limnaios
  
• Music Ralf R. Ollertz
  
• Dance/Creation Rafael Abreu, Daniel Afonso, Francesca Bedin, Félix Deepen, Karolina Kardasz, Enno Kleinehanding, Amandine Lamouroux, Alessia Vinotto
  
• Lighting Design/Lighting/Stage Technology Domenik Engemann
  
• Technical direction Felix Grimm
  
• Set/ Costumes Antonia Limnaios, Toula Limnaios, Kristina Weiß-Busch