«Dry Down - Requiem for a Lost Room»
Déguénon/Gränicher/Wetter

The site-specific installation performance ‘Dry Down’ invites you to a final Apéro in the office. Whether it's an open-plan space or at the end of a long corridor, the office is a place of regulated work, permeated by codes and hierarchies. Despite the many rules, the private sphere always pushes its way to the surface. Biographies are carved into height-adjustable desks, movement patterns are imprinted in fitted carpets, and interpersonal relationships shape the ergonomic chairs.

But what happens to this place when more and more people move to home offices or become digital nomads? When the private sphere no longer seeps into the workspace, but work creeps into the private sphere? The office begins to rot, lying fallow, ready to die. In ‘Dry Down’, lamentations and smells carry its demise, and the audience is invited to a farewell and a celebration of what remains.

Information on accessibility and language 

• Stepless access via a ramp

• Duration: The performance is 90 minutes without a break.

• Language: Little in German and English spoken language

• Content Notes: Farewell and mourning rituals are staged.

• Sound: There is live singing, and for much of the performance a soundscape of whispering, breathing and humming voices. At times, the sound can become loud. At the end of the show, vacuum cleaning is happening close to the audience.

• Smell: The performance makes extensive and constant use of smells that may be perceived as unpleasant (cleaning products, leather, dust).

•  Light: The performance makes use of the white, cold artificial lighting in the office. In the second half of the performance, the lighting is provided mainly by bright halogen lamps.

• Space: The performance begins in a foyer. Bar stools, beanbags and wheelchair spaces are available. After about 20 minutes, the audience is led for 10 minutes through several offices into another room, where, in addition to seats on a wooden bench (limited amount of cushions and wedge cushions available), there are also bean bags and wheelchair spaces. The seats on the benches allow you to lean against the wall. The beanbags are freestanding. If you would prefer not to walk down the corridor, you can be accompanied directly to the next room by a host, who will make themselves known during the entrance situation.

• Audience and interaction: At the start of the performance, the performers address and welcome the arriving audience directly. During the performance, the performers move close to the audience, and eye contact may occur from time to time; this does not need to be returned.  At one point, song lyrics are handed out but there is no need to sing and the audience is asked if possible to stand for a minute’s silence. The room can be left at any time, but a return is not possible.