At six outdoor locations in the heart of Amsterdam – on the streets, the quaysides and the canals – people can experience a very special encounter with a complete stranger – in bed. Todo lo que está a mi lado (Everything by my side) by the Argentine theatre maker Fernando Rubio is a public spectacle yet at the same time an intimate, one-on-one performance. The actress who invites you into the bed, recounts a poetical story about the unfathomable void of loneliness which can suddenly overwhelm you; and about the soothing words, the dreams and beauty which can bring happiness within reach. It’s a cathartic experience for the ‘bedfellow’; and a fascinating, almost surreal spectacle for passers-by. programme
dates
June 3 - June 12
information
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English, Dutch
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Duration of performance unknown
In collaboration with a group of Dutch actresses, the Argentine theatre maker Fernando Rubio stages Todo lo que está a mi lado (Eveything by my side), an intimate installation performance in public places in Amsterdam. In various unexpected locations in the city – right in the middle of the city centre, in a park, on the water – he installs a number of double beds, in each one of which an actress invites members from the audience for a one-to-one performance.
After the visitor has taken off his shoes and joined the actress in her bed, a short and intimate encounter will ensue. The actress whispers a short text by Rubio to the visitor, about the feeling of loneliness which can suddenly overwhelm you, about the first time you experienced this feeling as a child, about the future. Once or twice she will caress the visitor's arm or face, a gesture that reinforces the intimate character of the performance.
Rubio wrote his short, poetic text after having woken up one morning in his bed in Buenos Aires, overcome by a sense of loneliness which took him back to the first time he had felt this lonely as a four- or five-year-old. Most visitors will probably recognise this experience. The intimacy of their encounter is further enhanced by the fact that they are alone in bed with the actress, with no one else around who can hear her whispered words.
At the same time, the performance will affect the larger audience as well – the surprise of coming across the spectacle of Rubio's art installation in the cities where it has already appeared, has sparked the imagination of many curious passers-by. Fernando Rubio has taken his performance to many cities and their international festivals, ranging from Punta Arenas in Chile (2012), New York (2014), Athens (2014) and his own city Buenos Aires (2013). In each of these cities, he has worked with local actresses, who speak the same language as the visitors, creating an atmosphere of familiarity which is crucial for the performance to work.
