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.
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.
Read about ‘the collective journey’ of Tipping Point performer Candela Murillo here.
Listen to the soundtrack of Tipping Point, by Davide Ballotta and Strijbos & van Rijswijk, here on Spotify.
