By: Ana Borralho & João Galante Premiere: Maria Matos Teatro Municipal (Lisbon, Portugal / 2014) Duration: 105"
“In November 1974 a research group formed by scientists from several European countries landed in Lisbon. The leader of this group was the controversial psychologist Solomon Hoffman. Away from the attention of the great universities, this group conducted an experience, to which they called Hier sind wir.
It is known that, one night, a heterogeneous group of volunteers gathered in a theatre in Lisbon, believing that they were going to watch a show and had no knowledge of the experience that was about to be performed. It is also known that several tapes were used to transmit instructions to the volunteer – spectators. What might have really happened during the experience remains, since then, shrouded in mystery. There are those who say that the outcome was violent and unexpected, but there are also those who believe that it was just a failure. It is thought that before leaving Portugal Solomon Hoffman destroyed almost all of the experiment’s records and dismantled the research group.
Four decades later, the artists Ana Borralho & João Galante heard about this episode during a tour in Basel. They were presenting Atlas, a play performed by 100 people from each city in which it is presented. In Basel, one of these participants identified herself as being the granddaughter of Solomon Hoffman, ending up revealing to the artists what she believes to be the series of cassettes used during the experience. Now, in Here we are, Ana Borralho & João Galante use the content of those same tapes to try and reconstitute with the audience what took place in that night in 1974.”
Tiago Rodrigues
Concept, Artistic direction and Light design: Ana Borralho & João Galante
Dramaturgy: Tiago Rodrigues
Artistic consultant: Fernando J. Ribeiro
Artistic collaboration: Catarina Gonçalves, Cláudio da Silva, Ana Freitas, Elizabete Francisca, Matthieu Ehrlacher, Tiago Gandra
Sound: Coolgate
Music: Coolgate, Brian Eno, Janis Joplin, Jankenpopp, White Stripes
Light consultant: Thomas Walgrave
Translation and Text revision: Mónica Samões and José Pelicano
Production Manager: Mónica Samões
Executive production: Maria João Garcia, Andrea Sozzi
Production: casaBranca
Co-production: Maria Matos Teatro Municipal – A project Create to Connect supported by Programa Cultura da União Europa
Support: Forum Dança, O Rumo do Fumo, Schweppes
Thanks to: Students from PEPCC – Programa de Estudo, Pesquisa e Criação Coreográfica 2013/2014 do Forum Dança, Ana Maria Silva, David Leitão, Inês Felizardo, Iolanda Galinha, João Ribeiro, Luís Godinho, Mafalda Santos, Manuela Araujo, Maria Eugénia Pereira, Mark Deputter, Miguel Cardoso, Miguel Viegas, Patricia Coveiro, Rui Catalão, Sezen Tonguz, Sofia Dinger, Susana Menezes
