Kursk

Over the IJ Festival Amsterdam, July 2005

All visitors received a sealed envelope from the box office at the Over �t IJ Festival with a number and a time written on it. They were told not to open the envelope and to announce themselves at the ship �Blommendall� at the time indicated. The audience was greeted by a strict lady who lined up everyone in a row against the rails and ordered them to deposit their coats and bags in a huge bin. One at a time, people could register inside, their names were entered into a computer, and they were asked to complete an entry form that had been included in the envelope. Next they were treated to a cup of lukewarm coffee by a surly waitress accompanied by Russian top-40 music in the background, and the long waiting began....

By two's, unknown to each other, they were called in by a doctor for a quasi-medical check-up. They were given a pair of numbered overalls and ordered to put them on. They were told expressly to take off all items of their own clothing before donning said overalls. A second medical check-up followed, in which their ears were sprayed clean, lice removed from their hair and their feet soaped. Completely exhausted from the hefty intake procedure, the audience ended up at the laundress�. Her husband had been one of the crew members on the Kurks and her story was a shocking one. Other women with comparable stories followed.
After an hour, the audience was rowed out to the submarine in small rowboats. They were received by the captain who showed them further on their way. One at a time, they descended from the bow of the ship into its belly where they came upon the first victims who were lying feverishly on their bunks. The route through the ship took the audience from compartment to compartment, where actors held monologues especially for them.
It was dark in the boat: soundscapes issued subtle noises, moving lamps gave a feeling of the swell of the sea, and actors helped the audience to find their way around. Often, there was physical contact between the actors and the audience. People were spoken to, taken along, lifted up, put away in safety and observed. The text was written at a steady pace of development that led from rationale and reason to resignation, fantasies (the smell of rich food), dream (text with delicate music) and, finally, hallucination.
When the words came to an end, the audience felt surrounded by fleeting images from a long-forgotten youth and the dark, steel environment was transformed into a light, bright, weightless atmosphere. A choir helped to find the way aboveboard and the rowboat waited to bring the audience back to shore. Once there, clothes felt as if they had been washed and freshly ironed. An unexpected encounter with a woman who had been left behind pointed out the sunset while people changed back into their clothes in the hold. Afterwards, they were free to stay a while longer or to turn homewards.

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