Between Two. Trial. Six Worlds

AKHE

Russia

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The beauty of life, the enormity of dying – the Tibetan Book of the Dead deals with the transience of our physical state, the migration of the soul and reincarnation. AKHE’s multipart associative journey through this work of world literature merges dozens of episodes and building blocks in an epic way, producing a work of art in its own right. Yet it is up to the viewer to decide whether to look at all sections in this catalogue of metamorphoses or to select individual parts.

Milk, blood, silence – the mind in an intermediate state, the body as a paintbrush, the skin a palette, the stage a canvas. How does the soul prepare to face the unknown? In this part of the ritual performance cycle, AKHE traces the six realms into which one can be reborn according to Buddhist tradition.

AKHE is one of the most notable artists’ collectives in Russia. They mockingly refer to their performances, which are chock-full of strange objects and quotations from art, as “Engineering Theatre”. In past years, several works were commissioned and co-productions were organised by acclaimed event organisers (including the Berliner Festspiele, Kampnagel Hamburg and FIDENA Bochum). UNIDRAM has presented nearly all the ensemble’s productions to date. After some years of absence, the group presents its epic performance cycle Between Two based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead for the first time outside St. Petersburg at the Potsdam festival.