With The Great War, a miniature film set is installed in the theatre. The audience is witness to the reconstruction of the landscapes of the Western Front on a miniature scale using sawdust, potting soil, rusty nails and parsley as trees. It rains from a watering-hose; artillery fire comes from a gas burner. A friendly field gradually mutates into a poisonous mound of mud. The images are filmed with digital- and mini-cameras, then edited and projected live using a mixer. The larger than life projections that result are staggeringly realistic.

About HOTEL MODERN
Hotel Modern blends visual art, puppetry, music, film and performance in expressive theatre productions. The group’s visual language is rich and playful. Scale models play an important role in their work, allowing Hotel Modern to view the world literally from a macro perspective. Hotel Modern was founded in 1997. Its members are the actors Arlène Hoornweg and Pauline Kalker, and the artist and performer Herman Helle.

About ARTHUR SAUER
Arthur Sauer is a composer and performer who combines low-tech and high-tech instrumentation in his work, playing existing and own-made acoustic and electronic instruments. For the Great War, he came up with the concept of providing a live soundtrack on stage, allowing for both the making process and the final result to be viewed simultaneously.

Credits:
Performance concept: Herman Helle
Sound concept and live sound performer: Arthur Sauer
Screenplay, directors and performers: Pauline Kalker, Herman Helle, Arlène Hoornweg
Technician: Joris van Oosterhout
Manager: Corinne van Lelieveld
Production: Adrián Sneeuw

Coproduction: Hotel Modern, Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten, Gemeente Rotterdam, Productiehuis Rotterdam and Arthur Sauer

This performance is part of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF).

For tickets email tickets@d-caf.org or call 01275588634