THE CAGE
Chimeras - illusions of being and appearance, half human, half animal - are sent into a cage in THE CAGE to be let loose on each other in the old arena tradition. Is this merely for the entertainment of the visitors?
Or does the fight serve the self-perception of the fighters - through pain and violence?
THE CAGE is a fight club for those who stand outside of society: those who escape into an animal identity through trauma; those who relive their experiences of sexual violence again and again through the knockout in flashbacks in order to finally find the key within themselves - the key that enables them to break out of the cage.
My body is a cage / That keeps me from dancing with the one I love / My mind holds the key
My body is a cage / that keeps me from dancing with the one I love / My mind holds the key. | Lyrics MY BODY IS A CAGE by Peter Gabriel
Which side of the bars are we on? Aren't we all in a cage? Chimeras fascinate and frighten us at the same time. They are alien - and yet so similar to us. Are we perhaps chimeras ourselves? Don't we humans harbour the most contradictory types of being? Can struggle become dance?
Visitors to THE CAGE are invited to perceive themselves: to observe what the encounter with the monstrous triggers in us - and to experience what it means to go from voyeur to actor. Perhaps the end result will be a moment in which we feel ourselves in the dance - perhaps even touch ourselves.
For many years, we have been exploring a sensory-sensual theatre of encounter. We create large immersive worlds in public spaces: poetic kaleidoscopes that transform landscapes and nature with theatrical means.
For the TANZFESTIVAL SAAR 26 of the Saarländisches Staatstheater, we are creating a dreamlike world of cage fights, body images and memories of sexual violence. In the dance club of Kulturgut Ost, a theatrical-dance experience space is created that invites the audience and performers alike to become part of this experience.
THE CAGE is a world premiere as part of the TANZFESTIVAL SAAR 26 at the Saarländisches Staatstheater.
Premiere: 11 March 2026