Ligia Lewis

deader than dead

deader than dead begins at the end. The show opens with a whispered performance of Macbeth’s final soliloquy from Shakespeare’s tragedy. “Tomorrow and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day”, as the performer moves across a dance floor, practicing and repeating a series of movements stilted in their flow. In opening with Macbeth’s reflections on mortality and the futility of life, Ligia Lewis locates the liveness of the work in direct conversation with death. 

Throughout deader than dead, Lewis mobilizes repetition to flatten narrative structure and resist climax. Performers oscillate between “deadpan”—an affectless form of action designed to invoke emotional distance—and slapstick—a kind of plastic performativity that operates in hyperbole. Dancers twitch, writhe, and move in recurrent patterns punctuated by moments of stillness to a soundtrack composed of labored breathing, techno beats, and fourteenth-century choral music. “Tels rit au main qui au soir pleure” (One who laughs in the morning weeps in the evening), a ballad by the French poet and composer, Guillaume de Machaut (1300–1377), soundtracks portions of the performance. Invoking the medieval tradition of the lament, the piece itself is arranged as a never-ending complaint, performed here as an exposition of the limits of progress. The performance deteriorates as it repeats, unmastering the artifice of representation.

Lewis’s danse macabre, or choreographed allegory for death’s inescapable presence, produces a resonant feeling of doom, of being trapped in the nightmare of history’s presents. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow will come, and, as deader than dead suggests, attempts at progress will unwind and glitch, ending as they began—in nothingness, in absurdity, in a loop.

In addition to the live performance, the video version of deader than dead can also be seen as part of the performative installation study now steady at the International DANCE Festival Munich.

Tags:

Political, Party, Shakespeare

Accessibility

For people with wheelchairs: The entrance to the museum is located on Prinzregenstraße and is accessible via a ramp. The ramp is 100 metres from the Königinstraße bus stop. Two disabled parking spaces are located behind the Haus der Kunst. The access road is between the Eisbach and the Haus der Kunst. We recommend coming accompanied to cover the distance from the car park to the entrance. A wheelchair as well as portable stools can be borrowed free of charge at the ticket office. A lift provides access to all floors. The museum shop and the Golden Bar café are on the same level as the entrance hall. Wheelchair accessible toilets are located on the ground floor. Detailed information on the width of stairs, lifts and the ramp can be found at Kultur barrierefrei München. Only available in German language.

Wheelchair spaces can be booked via festivalbuero@spielmotor.de and +49 89 2805607.

Seating: There is no designated seating, and the audience is asked to move freely in the scenic space. Folding chairs are available on request.

Location: Haus der Kunst
Prinzregentenstraße 1 80538 Munich

Duration: 60 min

Age: Recommended from 12 years

Possible triggers: Subjects such as racism and death take centre stage

Sensory stimuli: loud music

© Fabrizio Vatieri

© Ligia Lewis

© Ligia Lewis

© Ligia Lewis

Team

Concept, choreography, direction, set design, performance: Ligia Lewis
Performance (Film): Ligia Lewis, Jasper Marsalis, Jasmine Orpilla, Austyn Rich
Performance (Live version): Ligia Lewis, Justin F. Kennedy, Corey Scott-Gilbert
Touring & Distribution: Godlive Lawani
Sound dramaturgy, design, and film score: Slauson Malone, mit Auszügen von S. McKenna
Costume design: Marta Martino
Lighting technician, sound technician: Joseph Wegmann
Text: Ligia Lewis, Ian Randolph, Shakespeare, and Ian McKellen on Shakespeare
Songs: Guillaume de Machaut, “Complainte: Tels rit au main qui au soir pleure (Le remède de Fortune),” ca. 1340s
Wigs: Gabrielle Curebal

Credits

deader than dead is presented by International DANCE Festival München in cooperation with Haus der Kunst.

Commissioned and produced by: Made in L.A. 2020/ Hammer Museum.Made in L.A. 2020: a version is organized by the Hammer Museum in partnership with The Huntington Library, ArtMuseum, and Botanical Gardens, and Ligia Lewis. 

Additional support provided by: Human Resources, Los Angeles.

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Directions: Haus der Kunst, Prinzregentenstraße 1 80538 Munich