No More Suffering

Martin Hansen & Kareth Schaffer are seeking exit strategies from a familiar yet untenable present: through chanting, skipping, manifestos and psalms, the pair exorcise —and exercise— their own lifelong penchant for suffering

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Suffering is often seen as something inevitable, at times even character-building. But it doesn't have to be that way: lasting peace is the goal of this intimate, rhythmic, and restlessly probing duet No More Suffering. The artists trace historical lineages of suffering from the proto-sufferer of Western Culture, Jesus Christ, and trace this narratives’ evolution through to our current neo-liberal. individualist times. Where and how can these foundational constructs around work, suffering and prosperity be mined, exposed and reconfigured? Through leftist politics? Via negation of the self? Revolution, even?

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The artists practice a performative solidarity as they march through this restless and mesmerising work. The strongly atmospheric sounds of Mars Dietz and the opulent stage design by Dan Lancea, referencing Catholic religious images, counteract the beat set by the performers. The theater itself remains in limbo: heaven —or hell— lurks at every exit.

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Cast & Credits Choreography, performance, text: Martin Hansen & Kareth Schaffer | Music, sound design: Mars Dietz | Set design: Dan Lancea | Costume: Lauren Steel | Light: Elliott Cennetoglu | Sound engineering: Andrea Parolin | Choreographic assistance: Leah Katz | Dramaturgical Advice: Mila Pavićević | Press: Jana Lüthje | Production management: M.i.C.A.- Movement in Contemporary Art | Text used in the performance: Psalm 51: 1- 3. A production of Martin Hansen & Kareth Schaffer // Construction Company | With support of Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Tanzfabrik Berlin, and the Institute for Proliferating Dramaturgies. Press Jana Lüthje Management Isabel de Sena