I Dreamt of Fire

I Dreamt of Fire was conceived by composer and performer Marie Delprat in collaboration with multimedia artist Tom Lane. The immersive audiovisual performance, which is based on a reflection on fear as an instrument of power, is based on the works of philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum. Using a complex aesthetic of the senses, the project explores the tensions between individual vulnerability and systemic control mechanisms. The hypnotic performance takes place in an unidentified waiting room. It comprises indefinite waiting times with no clear order or schedule and explores the oppressive feeling of uncertainty and the unknown. The audience takes a seat in the middle. They must sit, listen, watch and wait for their number to be called, while the space around them loses its shape and disintegrates. By deconstructing this space, I Dreamt of Fire questions the waiting room as a bureaucratic infrastructure, as an instrument for managing bodies and places, a black box in which procedures and decisions remain invisible. As a dystopia in which one waits without knowing what for and for how long, I Dreamt of Fire embodies the complete loss of control. The denial of psychological control exposes the audience to the discomfort of not being in control of their environment and forces them to come to terms with fear and uncertainty. Because what are we actually waiting for?

by Marie Delprat

Cast