«the way you look tonight»
27th and 28th February and 1st March 2015, Dampfzentrale Bern.
Our work
In previous work, Emma Murray and her team have been interested in finding adept physical translations for the more absurd contradictions of being human.
Starting with the solo «my body is an island» (2008) - which cast a dubious eye on the interaction between «self-help» philosophies and dance. Followed by «naturalcauses» (2012), which took a subversive look at the effects of natural disaster.
They now investigate the role of the spectator within the act of creation in their latest work «the way you look tonight». In it, they ask, «who is watching whom, in an effort to draw our attention to the power of watching».
Our piece
«the way you look tonight» is the latest work by the Bern-based choreographer and performer, Emma Murray. In it, she develops an absurd personal logic to investigate the role of the spectator in performance.
«the way you look tonight» brings the process of ’looking’ to our attention and asks how an audience listen and project meaning onto what they are watching. Confronted with the effect of the gaze Emma explores the notion that, «as spectators we are as implicated in the creation of performance as the performer/s».
The inversion of a theatre setting implicates the spectator in a game of hiding and revealing, of disguise and discovering, of changing characters and de/constructing identity. Emma’s intervention with the conventions of theatre, provide an open invitation to experience performance as a field of potentiality, a certain rupture in time, where there is no difference between the possible and the impossible.
It is here that, the current Associated Artist of the Dampfzentrale Bern, aims at revealing that which is yet to happen, with that which could have been – a performance which is about the way you look at it.
We need your support for:
- Realizing guest appearances from some of the ’movers and shakers’ of the performance world.
- There are others, waiting in the wings, who want to join in this performance!
- With your help, we can invite these surprise guest artists and make our solo a group piece!
Foto: Lukas Beyeler 
Foto: Lukas Beyeler
Emma says:
Many thanks for taking the time to read through the description of our work «the way you look tonight». With your help I can make my solo a group piece!
Who we are:
- Emma Murray, Choreographer & Performer
- Oded Littman, Dramaturgy
- Johanna Hilari, Assistant Dramaturgy
- Jonas Bühler, Light Design
- Till Hillbrecht, Music & Composition
- Valeria Felder, Stage Design
- Eliane Keller, Project Management
- Guests: ???