Not the Foggiest
for 2 actors, 2 singers, 7 musicians and seeing and non-seeing audience
The idea of the piece
'Kein blasser Schimmer' (Not the Foggiest) needs to be experienced by an audience of those who can see and those who can't see, both sides exchanging their impressions during the performance. You only get a complete impression of the piece if your partner helps you.
Jo has been blind since birth, a fact she doesn't realise. Since early childhood, her father has made sure that she is not conscious of her disability. In advance, he tries to avoid careless comments and gestures made by others like "take a look at that" or "it's an eyesore!". Jo grows up in the care of specialist staff "blissfully unaware" of her condition, in a golden cage.
Now and again she feels that she is different from the people around het, but how should she describe this "differentness"?
What does Jo feel?
As long as she is unaware of the situation, others act for her. But for her, knowledge means that she has to take responsibility for happiness and sadness herself.
Diderot (1749)
The blind live of a world complete in itself without the feeling that they are disabled or inadequate in any way, so that the "problem" of being blind (including the wish to remedy it) is not their problem but ours.
Humans are "seeing animals"
What does blindness mean for those of us who can "see"? What does it mean for those who cannot see? What are we missing when we cannot see? But what do we not see, not notice when we depend on our eyes? Or are we who can see soblind that we can't tell the difference between loving our neighbour and egoism?
On the performance
Parts of the performance take place in the dark. As long as music and speech are present during the performance, both the blind and those who can see can follow what's happening. But when speaking stops and maybe also the music, those who can see are at a disadvantage. The same is true the other way round: colorful scenery con of course only be really appreciated by those who can see. This theatrical form makes possible an exchange of information within the audience.
The idea of this performance was developed based on Hellmut Schlingensiepen's degree dissertation. A book of photos is also planned along the same lines, letting the blind and those who can see experience things together.
