Before/After is the latest production from NITE, and takes an up-close and personal look into the finer detail behind the everyday lives of ordinary people.
Few people’s lives are at all grand or compelling, but that makes them no less interesting. Before/After is a magical/realistic montage piece where various people’s life stories intertwine. The result is an overwhelming visual spectacle sure to resonate for a long time to come.
Before/After begins in an elderly woman’s bathroom (Bien de Moor). Familiar memories of an unimpressive life slowly permeate the space. And are these memories still her own, or is she just as vividly portraying the memories of others? An ensemble of 35 dancers, actors and musicians brings a stream of consciousness to life in a cinematic setting, revealing the moments before and after an event. What if life had turned out differently? The universe of short, familiar stories from Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play Vorher/Nachher takes on concrete form under the direction of Guy Weizman. Live on stage, a film is created which literally zooms in on the body and life of an older woman
After winning the Dutch Regieprijs (best director) for Salam and glowing reviews for Brave New World 2.0, Guy Weizman is back with his latest production: Before/After.
“We are accustomed to films and theater being about something epic and huge. But our daily life is mostly the small things from your small life. And hiding right behind these small things is what makes us profoundly human.” – Guy Weizman
After big stories about our fascination for the suffering of others (Carrousel), the conflict between world religions (Salam) and the future of humanity (Brave New World 2.0), director Guy Weizman zooms in with Before/After to focus on small and everyday things. Most lives may not be epic or thrilling, but that does not make them less interesting. It’s quite possible that our deepest selves only truly reveal themselves in our everyday lives. In a visual, poetic mosaic with a large cast of dancers, singers and actors, a universe of small, recognizable stories is brought to life with overflowing emotion.
