Theatre piece – Version II

Unknown sounds change during the deepest night into characters out of the past. Is it fantasy or dream? Are dreams deceiving or do they let us understand things better? Dreams are tempting but also amoral and repulsive. They breach walls, convention, good manners and best intentions without difficulty. The human mind separates the mundane daily dirt and then launches a veritable deluge of imagination. Something smoulders …

The play’s first version in May 1996 was specially produced for a special venue in Utrecht and could not be transported. »Night Shift I« switches off the audience’s sense of vision and handles its senses of smell, touch, taste and hearing in a very uncommon way. Each individual member of the audience slumped in a sort of trance, in which reality, play and dream are barely separable.

The small Suver Nuver company belongs amongst the most interesting Dutch theatre groups. Within a strongly developed dance scene Suver Nuver with its very individual style makes up a rare jewel as a linguistic ensemble. The unconventional, absurd-comical pieces are based on autobiographical sources and opposing cultures, so for instance »Rage at pavement« (1993) which included the physically handicapped, »Fear of negros« (1994), – the title is self-explanatory – and »Risk« (1995) using the »Lady Luck« principle. Suver Nuver made guest appearances in many European and American cities.

For the first time since he co-established Suver Nuver in 1987 did Ton Lutgerink work again with the company in »Night Shift I« and this time he rearranged the production for closed-in theatres. The premiere of »Night shift II« took place during september 1996 in Amsterdam.