‘Des/information’ is an interactive performance which problematizes our perception of reality in a digital environment and the contemporary view of cultural expressions as easily digestible entertainment, to be consumed and then instantly forgotten. The aim is to explore phenomena such as filter bubbles and echo chambers where our opinions and prejudices are reinforced and never questioned. We are surrounded by fast “news” and clips which are intended to make us react emotionally without critically considering the source. The role of music in society at large mirrors this. A lot of music is made to be used in the background, with the purpose of enhancing a mood or selling a product. It slips into our subconscious without challenging us intellectually. Social media influence our way of perceiving reality.

‘Des/information’ wants to explore how an audience’s view of reality and truth can be distorted, and how they can be transformed from passive consumers into active participants whose choices determine the outcome of the performance. The idea is to take the audience out of their comfort zone and make them question ready-made facts and knowledge. The aim is to create a performance where the audience, guided by a gamemaster, moves around in a room while solving tasks. During the game the audience will face a certain number of choices. The actions they choose will decide the outcome of the performance.

The music has a central role in the performance, and its relationship to the audience is one of the areas to be explored. At the start, the audience will face a pre-recorded, easy listening background track, whose sole role is to provide an ambience. Step by step, the music will transform. Depending on the choices of the audience, the music track will evolve into something more challenging, complex and demanding. After a while, there will be messages/clues in the music for the audience to decode, to use to solve the enigmas that face them later in the play. In the next phase, the music detaches itself from the pre-recorded EAM track and is taken over by live musicians who begin to interact with the audience, subtly and ambiguously at first, then more and more persistently. The musicians have double roles – that of musicians as well as acting as characters in the play. The material performed by the musicians is a mix of composed and improvised material and consists of both musical and spatial elements.

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Link to excerpts from a previous chamber music drama project in the same genre as Des/information, A Study in Confinement, 2014