Tipping Point

Tipping Point is a breathtaking balance act in which six performers confront a large, barely contained hemispherical object.

The object looks like a broken-off part of a shipwreck or a piece of space debris. As soon as the six climb it, it tilts and they must react immediately to keep themselves standing. This instability reinforces both their vulnerability and dependence on each other; every movement has an impact, on the object and on each other.

The performers search for balance - of the object and of their mutual relationships - but discover that in doing so they mercilessly bump up against the limits of their individual freedoms. Only by surrendering to the laws of gravity ánd each other can they play the object and stay upright. Only by working together can they find the perfect balance and control for a moment.

Tipping Point is a challenging performance about dependence, shifting power relations and large uncontrollable elements. With a unique, powerful language at the interface of dance and acrobatics, full of risks, Panama Pictures manages to keep the audience on the edge of their seats with it.

The movements are accompanied, propelled, magnified or negated by a specially composed music composition that at times is larger than life, but at other times emphasises the emptiness and makes the intimacy of the performers tangible.

Panama Pictures makes sensory theatre with a very powerful, sometimes downright spectacular yet refined movement language, in which dance and acrobatics merge as a matter of course. Choreographer Pia Meuthen translates literary and philosophical inspirations into poetic images and manages to touch her spectators with the human feel of it all. She shows worlds that are recognisable to the spectator but also always leave room for own interpretation.

In Panama Pictures' work, the movement enters into a challenging dialogue with architectural sets. The objects and spaces created by permanent designer Sammy van den Heuvel not only define the atmosphere but also challenge, hinder and motivate the performers, who use them to push the boundaries of what is possible. As a spectator, you feel the impact of the movements and the risk the performers take. Something is at stake here.

Pia Meuthen: 'We live in unstable times and it is becoming increasingly clear how interdependent we are globally: every decision has an impact, sometimes the consequence of our action (or lack of action) can be felt as far away as the other side of the world. Tipping Point questions our individual freedom and collective responsibility.'

Tipping Point is a co-production of Panama Pictures, LOFFT - DAS Theater (Leipzig) and Strijbos & van Rijswijk.

Tipping Point is a clever piece of balancing act. The actors jump, run, roll, crawl, sneak, climb, shuffle across the platform for an hour with tremendous dynamism to keep the danger in balance. They literally twist themselves into all sorts of corners, making spectacular antics, swinging like monkeys and writhing like a snake. In other words, they defy the laws of gravity. (Brabant Cultureel)