Annelinde Bruijs (artist, actor and composer) and Yannick Noomen (artist and actor) take on the role of two humanoid robots. In an hour long electronic composition they speculate, with a good dose of philosophy, about being human in present times. In Artificial by Nature, human life is sung about, by two robots nevertheless.

 

What does it mean to be human? What do we stand up for every day? And why do we do what we do? In this performance, the actors attempt to find answers as eager androids. Nineties is inspired by the ideas of philosopher Helmuth Plessner, in which he argues that humans are artificial by nature. According to him, humans are a species that is capable of both experiencing themselves and reflecting on themselves.

They are not at home in nature, like an animal, but shape and construct their own lives questioning their own instincts. With the help of ‘artificialities’ such as language, technology and tools, mankind bumbles and stumbles through life searching for their true nature.

 

 

Nineties sees a certain sisyphical irony in the conflict between instinct and consciousness and makes a musical ode to the struggling human being, always trying to become something; itself in the best case.

 

 

 

“I believe robots offer an ideal perspective to observe ourselves from a distance. Through this alienating gaze, we can attempt to reach the essence of human existence—stripping away sentiment while fueling our wonder about what it means to be human. The stumbling, faltering human being is searching for who they are and what drives them. That is what we try to capture in this performance.”
Anne Maike Mertens, director

 

“During this creative process, I get to explore how thinking sounds. I focus on the tempos and melodies in which thoughts are—or are not—spoken. The result is a stuttering composition, with ‘uh’ as its refrain. Through repetition and artificial voice distortion, we attempt to express ‘alienation.’ We make tangible the fact that we never fully align with the thoughts we have about ourselves—something that is both painful and beautiful.”
Annelinde Bruijs, actor and composer

 

About the company
Nineties (Productions) is an eclectic Dutch theater group with a never-ending urge to experiment and a fearless curiosity for new art forms. As creative shapeshifters, we focus on narrative forms that can make room for a multitude of world views. We therefore represent the voice of a generation that grew up in a world where many different truths coexist, and we want our work to do justice to these diverse perspectives. Through theater we try to make present times a little less elusive. We playfully look for other perspectives and other ways to tell stories that can help us move into the future. Curious, committed and with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, we make proposals for different ways of looking.

 

‘We’ are director and theater maker Anne Maike Mertens, actor and theater maker Yannick Noomen and creative producer Vevi van der Vliet. We are also a result of the reciprocal collaboration with scenographer and dramaturgical visual thinker Julian Maiwald, and dramaturge, writer, critic Han van Wieringen and the countless separate collaborations with various artists from different disciplines. We are a match with choreographer Dalton Jansen and his Blackbirds foundation, we find ourselves in multi-faceted partnerships with, among others, Theater Bellevue and Oerol. It is in our DNA to explore boundaries and challenge ourselves. We are fluid and agile in content and form and collaborators at heart.

 

Our work is neither formless, nor form-retaining. With theater performances, performances, installations and audio walks - and all possible combinations - we always radically choose the suitable form and location for the chosen theme and we also find different audiences outside the regular theater circuit. Pushing boundaries in a creative way has always been our great strength and it is precisely that agility that has enabled us in recent years - even in times of pandemic lockdowns - to continue making relevant art, e.g. the hybrid performances Memento Mori and Nineties Lab.

 

Nineties has existed since 2013 and conquered a permanent position within the performing arts field with leading performances such as Untitled, 2017, Noir and Merkel. Since 2021 our work is rewarded with structural support from the Performing Arts Fund and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. In 2023 Nineties received a nomination for the Golden Calf for best Digital Cultural Production for our multimedia installation To be continued.

 

 

Credits
Concept
Nineties, Annelinde Bruijs
Director
Anne Maike Mertens
Performers
Yannick Noomen, Annelinde Bruijs
Dramaturg, scenographer
Julian Maiwald
Technical engineer
Marcel Janssen
Sound design
Aya Dupont
Costumes
Elsemarijn Bruijs
Producer
Barbara Reijs
PR, marketing
De Wolven
Creative producer
Vevi van der Vliet
Poster image
Joost de Haas
Special thanks to Han van Wieringen

Supported by AFK and FPK