wearing heavy boots

A manual for mourning

HELLA LUX gets under the skin of grief in a hybrid performance-film format, venturing into sorrowful forests, following lonely paths, with the desire to get lost and remain adrift for an indefinite time. In exploring shared exhaustion and longing, in clinging to what remains, they attempt to settle into the thicket, to build shelters, and to feel their way into the unknown. Waiting for a drop, longing for water—torrents, rage. Finding oneself in the universe. Picking something up, carrying it along, and discovering comfort for one’s own sense of loss in the mourning of others.

Drawing inspiration from the imagery of traditional sympathy cards, the HELLA LUX collective creates a unique cartography of grief in wearing heavy boots—woven from associative visuals and soundscapes.For everyone aged 12 and up who wants to explore solitude, sharing, and compassion.

From age 12 | German with English parts | 45 minutes

Info

Hybrid: As a result of the pandemic, the concept was adapted from a live performance into a performance film, which was made available for streaming on various digital platforms.

Additional Material for downloading:

Flux Gastspiel, performance program – Link to the promotional video

Publication "(post)pandemisch Performen" – Link to the publication

Awards & Venues

Awarded the "Hessischer Theaterpreis" 2021 in the category "Raum-Zeit-Fiktion" and part of the Flux – Theater und Schule touring program.

wearing heavy boots was originally conceived as a performance but was reimagined as a performance-film due to the impact of the pandemic. This transformation also marked the beginning of HELLA LUX’s exploration of transmedia translation practices. The performance-film serves as the first part of a trilogy on grief, which concludes with the comic HEAVY BOOTSand the lecture-performance BOOTS.

Hessischer Theaterpreis 2021, Award – Jury State ment

Credits

Artistic Direction: Liljan Halfen & Milena Wichert
Performance: Louisa Beck, Hanna Steinmair, Ewelina Zielonka, Liljan Halfen & Milena Wichert
Choreography: Ewelina Zielonka
Music: Louisa Beck
Lighting: Patrick Kerner
Editing: Milena Wichert
Camera: Rudolf Wichert
Production: Mariya Barashka
Outside Eye: Lenja Busch

Photos: ©Rudolf Wichert

Funding & Collaboration

Premiere 12.03.2021 | Vimeo on Demand | Jugend-Kultur-Kirche Sankt Peter

This production was created in cooperation with studioNAXOS and Jugend-Kultur-Kirche Sankt Peter. The project is funded by the Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main, the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts, the Stiftung Andere Zeiten, EKHN Stiftung, and the Evangelische Zukunftsstiftung. Rehearsals took place at Z. Zentrum für Proben und Forschung Frankfurt.

„With unconventional means, Hella Lux give a language, body, images, and action to a terrain full of voids, creating performative approaches that surprise and emotionally captivate me in a profoundly sensory way.” Jury Statement, Hessischer Theaterpreis 2021

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU
Email: info@hellalux.de

FOR PROJECT INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:

Lenja Busch: lenja@hellalux.de
Focus: Public Relations and International
Milena Wichert: milena@hellalux.de
Focus: Services and Audio Formats