When will all hell break loose?
Are you too confused by our times?
Do we even want to understand each other?
In BRASS, BOT delve deep into the musical and visual language of a hundred years ago, into the vibrant, superheated vacuum between the two world wars. It was a turbulent period in which everyone was searching, in which the arts were pushing the boundaries of the possible and in which nobody was constrained anymore by what was previously considered reasonable or proper. It was an age of louche cabaret and confusing art, straight-line modernists and swinging jazz, an age in which new values were enthusiastically encouraged… but it was also an age of frighteningly extreme conservatism and vehement calls for a strong leader.
Inspired by the rich visual language of the interbellum, Muziektheater BOT investigate the 2020s and find that much the same kind of tension pervades our air as that which coloured the 1920s, a hundred years ago.
Strident calls for change amid a simultaneous hankering for the past are again fuelling a potential explosion. And the friction between thrusting innovation and oppressive conservatism is ever increasing.
Will the tension be ramped up until everything explodes catastrophically, or will we see reason this time and be reconciled with each other? With a strong dose of visual absurdism and humour, BOT tackle this volatile issue via raw, exuberant music theatre, clearly influenced by the events of a century ago.
BRASS is an evocative visual and musical adventure that utilises deceptively simple technology, elementary materials and physical play. Incisively directed by Ko van den Bosch, it depicts the stark contrasts of our age. Its visual poetry is simultaneously unsettling and relatable; it is recognisable to all.
BRASS – Press quotes
‘Chaos, sizzling tension of imminent, inevitable war: BRASS is a rusty and unpolished cabaret that squeaks and creaks and sounds like BOT. For an hour, BRASS plunges us headlong into total dehumanisation and complete destruction. But as its more tranquil finale shows, new art can emerge, even from the smoking ruins of war. BRASS is therefore ultimately also about resilience – even hope – and the role that art can play in this.’
Theaterkrant, Sander Janssens, 9-06-2024
‘Amusing and entertaining, BRASS is also a grim, Dadaist-inclined performance that depicts a nascent war economy in which the individual is still merely cannon fodder and soldiers – incited by a sort of iron tyrant – set off for the front, with stamping boots and fluttering banners. Horribly topical.’
TROUW, Hans Smit, 14-06-2024
‘In an eccentric hour, the raw, four-member Muziektheater BOT capture the chaos of impending war. So theatrical and ostensibly so gruesomely real.’
De Volkskrant****, Annette Embrechts, 21-07-2024
BRASS – Credits
Musicians/performers: Job Van Gorkum, Doan Hendriks, Tomas Postema, Geert Jonkers
Director: Ko van den Bosch
Production and costumes: Linde Legat
Sound: Jan Aike Luchtenberg
Light: Marco Chardon
