Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break

This year the remarkable Belgian artist Miet Warlop is a guest at Sommerszene for the first time. In her internationally acclaimed piece Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break she leads the audience into a hypnotic world: a Western version of Sufi dervishes. Three performers revolve in circles incessantly for 45 minutes – a movement intended to release a state of religious ecstasy in Sufi ceremonies. The handbrake referenced in the title, that no longer works, could be a classic motif for nightmares: being unable to stop while heading for disaster. However, it can also be a synonym for feeling free and able to make unin­hibited progress. With Miet Warlop, events on stage consistently build to a climax: gradually rock music and song are added to the revolving dance, increas­ingly heightening the performance until it becomes an intense trip for the audience. Ghost Writer and the Broken Hand Break is a dizzying experiment in perception, a hybrid of whirling dance, music and lighting that treads a fine line between control and loss of control.