Adem: theatre as a journey

Some days ago, I had the opportunity to see a run-through of Roos van Geffen's Adem. I had already seen a few rehearsals and spoken to Roos on numerous occasions about her work. It was fascinating to see the result and to think back on the process I witnessed over the past months. Of course, some things might have changed during the past few days, after I saw that run-through. The process of fine-tuning a theatre piece is endless, specially for some one with as much attention to detail as Roos. The way I experienced it, however, felt pretty complete already. I was thrilled to discover how the different fragments I had seen earlier found their way into a compelling structure. The piece itself feels like a journey. Tempted as I am to describe it more in detail, I will only speak about in general terms because I don't want to ruin the surprise of the spectators. But what I want to share here is that the piece allows the audience to undergo an experience of transformation. I felt different, from the moment I stepped into the room to the moment I left. Something undeniably changed inside of me, something was stirred up and relocated. The piece, through simple and effective mechanisms, with subtle and powerful movements on behalf of the actors and the set design, creates the possibility for this change. At the beginning, I felt distanced both from the performers and the space. I also felt them separated from each other. But as time progressed, intimacy slowly crawled its way into the performance, resulting in a feeling of extreme closeness and connection. The piece premiers May 20^th and it will run until the 29^th (daily except on the 25th), for anyone interested in experiencing the transformation and the journey that this piece affords the viewers.