ANGELA (a strange loop)

ANGELA – a completely normal life or: a strange loop? The new multimedia stage work by Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg reflects on the pandemic situation in general and the vulnerability of female bodies in particular. Using the collective experience of individual vulnerability from the last several years as a backdrop, they zoom in on ANGELA’s life in search of possible answers, following her from birth to death and beyond. ANGELA (a strange loop) is a case study in what it means to be human today: What marks do history, personal bonds and society leave on us? It is a close-up of a woman’s life, a meditation on illness and belonging. The journey accompanies ANGELA through everyday situations: waking and sleeping, being born and giving birth, aging and death. And finally, we see her fall ill. Are ANGELA’s mysterious symptoms transforming her, or are they simply changing the way she looks at her life so far? ANGELA is made up of millions of experiences, some of which were told to her by others. Ultimately, she might be nothing but a strange loop, an endless sequence. What becomes visible as we zoom further and further in on ANGELA’s life? All social states and digital worlds are connected by her perception. Everything she dreams, hears and thinks, everything unfinished, unspoken, and unprocessed manifests itself in space and becomes a reflection of her inner turmoil, like a state of constant inflammation. Just as the world appears to be in endless turmoil, with open burning wounds and nonstop agitation, reigniting itself on its own feedback loops. Hyperinflammation becomes an all-encompassing condition. ANGELA’s head and body are the setting, the landscape, the stage. As her dreams take shape, she is forced to face them.

The first part, JESSICA – an Incarnation, premiered in February 2022 at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, is now followed by ANGELA (a strange loop), the second part of a trilogy in which Susanne Kennedy explores questions of our existence and perception in the interplay of body, technology, ritual and art. Following stints at the Festival d’Avignon and the Wiener Festwochen, among others, the new production can now be seen as a guest performance with two dates at the Volksbühne. The third part of the trilogy will premiere at the Volksbühne in May 2024.

Production: ULTRAWORLD PRODUCTIONS
Management: Something Great
Artistic production management: Philip Decker
Technical production management: Sven Nichterlein
Stage construction: Stefan Pilger
International distribution: Rui Silveira – Something Great
Tour manager: Niki Fischer – Something Great

A Production of Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg in Co-Production with Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Wiener Festwochen, Festival d’Automne à Paris & Odéon – Théâtre de l’Europe, Festival d’Avignon, Holland Festival, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, National Theatre Drama / Prague Crossroads Festival, Romaeuropa Festival, Teatro Nacional de São João. Supported by the German Federal Cultural Foundation with funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and Stichting Ammodo