PLEASE, open the curtains

PLEASE, open the curtains is a theatrical exploration of melancholy. It reflects on social alienation, vulnerability, human connection, and the emotional weight of change and loss. Forgotten figures lose themselves in solitude, wandering through a space that forces them to confront their emptiness. The floor, cold as steel, gently trembles beneath their feet. Artificial flowers appear to bloom, yet function only as echoes of something that was once alive.

In this performance, inspired by The Dreams by Delia Derbyshire and Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, melancholy is not presented as a weakness, but as a search for connection and consolation. It is a confrontation with instability and impermanence. A plea for beauty and hope.

The scenography begins as a static tableau that slowly transforms into a dynamic, vibrant space. The floor, resembling cold steel, appears unyielding yet subtly vibrates, symbolizing inner instability. These vibrations disrupt the illusion of stability and reveal vulnerability and uncertainty. The space generates both visual tension and a soundscape, with the groaning of the metal floor and the ticking of mechanical flowers forming part of the auditory environment. This sonic layer recalls historical theatrical techniques in which sound was physically produced. The space becomes a living organism that reveals the intangible both visually and aurally. Alongside the industrial steel stand artificial flowers and a fountain, symbols of domesticated nature.

This artificiality resonates with Darian Leader’s concept of mourning in The New Black, in which reconstructed spaces reflect a lost origin. The space becomes a symbolic landscape, where representations emphasize the distance between ourselves and the real world. The scenography reveals a space in which control is always temporary. The vibrations slowly set everything in motion, symbolizing the erosion of what once appeared authentic and inviting reflection.