Missing rooms and unknown clouds: darkness and illumination in the work of Lundahl & Seitl

Machon, Josephine ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4464-8947, Lundahl, Christer and Seitl, Martina (2017) Missing rooms and unknown clouds: darkness and illumination in the work of Lundahl & Seitl. In: Theatre in the Dark: Shadow, Gloom and Blackout in Contemporary Theatre. Alston, Adam and Welton, Martin, eds. Methuen Drama Engage . Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, London, pp. 147-168. ISBN 9781474251181, pbk-ISBN 9781350099401, e-ISBN 9781474251198, e-ISBN 9781474251204. [Book Section]

Abstract

Lundahl & Seitl takes a unique approach to the use of blindfolds, blackouts and choreographed journeys through shadows in all of its work. This contribution to Theatre in the Dark will take the form of an essay correspondence between a visitor to the work, Machon, and the artists, Lundahl and Seitl. From an introduction that surveys a range of Lundahl & Seitl productions, the discussion evolves into a philosophical dialogue upon Symphony of a Missing Room and its artistic and theoretical inspiration; visitor and artists reflecting on the work together. It considers the ways in which the removal of vision – a blinding by whiteout goggles – shifts to a prioritisation of kinaesthetic and haptic engagement with form and concept. Coupled with a unique tactile interchange between the visitor and a, seemingly, disembodied dancing guide, the blindfolding in this piece encourages visitors to reawaken powers of embodied perception and to harness their inner sight as they travel through a series of sensual artistic imaginings.

Taking an expressive style that exposes theory in practice, the dialogue serves as an unpacking of the layers of expectations and experiences that exist in Lundahl & Seitl’s work. Addressing imagination, memory and (self) consciousness, these thoughts will consider the way in which the creative decisions of the artists, by manipulating blindfolded suspenseful and suspended moment, ensure the visitor becomes highly attuned to attending to waiting and intensely aware of being in the dark during a Lundahl & Seitl event.

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