“Yes, grief can be funny, and it is Kassys’ success at finding this funniness that makes ‘Kommer’ truly extraordinary.” Seattle Times
“At once manipulative, comical and wonderfully peculiar. One of the most discussed theatre companies of our time.” Freiburger Nachtrichten
Australian Premiere
Kassys
The Netherlands
“How are you?”
“I’m fine, considering the circumstances. And how are you?”
“Yes.”
Kommer traces the intersecting paths of six people as they respond to the news of the death of a loved one. For the first half of the show, we witness their acute grief as they try to give and receive comfort by saying words wellmeant but, at the same time, misplaced and clichéd.
Seamlessly, in the second half, the play is replaced by a film that follows the ‘real’ lives of these people after the curtain has dropped.
We voyeuristically trace them discovering their individual stories and private pain.
Using few words, precise physicality, and humour, Kommer captures the sadness and accompanying awkwardness inherent in these moments, and reflects with uncanny truth the human community in times of grief and stress.
Structurally daring, emotionally resonant and touching, Kommer sees the Australian debut of the ground-breaking Dutch ensemble Kassys, as they demolish boundaries between the virtual, the real, the stage, the screen, truth and illusion.
Live section in English; film section in Dutch with English subtitles.
KOMMER is a Kassys production, co-produced with Productiehuis [Frascati] in Amsterdam, Productiehuis Rotterdam (Rotterdamse Schouwburg) and Kunstencentrum de Vooruit in Gent, Belgium. Funded by Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten, hetveemtheater Amsterdam, wpZimmer Antwerpen, Terschellings Oerol, VSB Fonds, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and OC&W (Ministry of Culture).
Image: Klaas Paradies
