REFRAME THEATRE
A total length of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Director's note—— Thomas Krupa
With THE WALL 360°, I wanted to create an experience that allows the audience to immerse themselves directly into the world of Marlen Haushofer's novel. The story of a woman who is suddenly cut off from the outside world by an invisible barrier, torn away from her everyday life in the city, offers a powerful reflection on isolation, humanity and our relationship with nature. The longer this woman lives isolated in the forest, the more she and we with her understand the biosphere surrounding her as the functioning of a complex and flexible network.
It's about creating a poetic space, a composition of images, performing play, movement and sound. This virtual narrative space defines a 'socio-ecological system' in which man becomes part of nature and does not live detached from it.
Our 360° staging opens new perspectives on the plot and allows us, virtually present but physically invisible, to experience the events up close and from our own point of view. Every movement, every detail in the room becomes part of the narrative. It’s the attempt of exploring the human condition and expressing and sharing a reality through the birth of a new art form. By being virtually present but physically invisible, the wall becomes not only visible to us in this immersive form, but also tangible.
THE WALL 360° is an exploration of loneliness, resilience and hope – a mirror that invites us to reflect on our relationship with the environment, with others and with ourselves.
Thomas Krupa, Berlin, 07.01.2025
Curator & Cantonese Dubbing Director —— Yan Pat To
The Necessity of Connection
In the summer of 2022, Thomas and I discussed a project at his home in Berlin, which would later become "Neometropolis," set to premiere at the Gießen National Theatre in early 2024. We talked for about five or six hours, and by around ten in the evening, I was quite hungry and eager to eat. Thomas suggested that before I left, I should take a look at his latest VR work, "The Wall." I was curious and thought spending ten minutes on it wouldn't hurt. However, it was so captivating that I couldn't stop watching and ended up viewing the entire 75-minute "The Wall" in one go, forgetting all about my hunger.
Creating a VR work that lasts over an hour is a significant challenge, both financially and technically. Moreover, to innovate within the piece and provide the audience with visual and intellectual shocks is even more difficult. But Thomas beautifully accomplished this high-level task, which is why he was awarded one of Germany's highest theatre honors—Der Faust, 2023.
Since then, I've been thinking about bringing "The Wall" to Hong Kong to share it with local audiences. I believe that connection is the way forward for human society, linking different people and sectors, and connecting Hong Kong with the world. Isolation is not beneficial, and in this era of globalization, it is also impractical. Bringing Hong Kong's works and artists abroad and inviting foreign artists and works to Hong Kong has been a focus of Reframe Theatre's efforts in recent years. Last year, Reframe Theatre was fortunate to be invited by the East Kowloon Cultural Centre to become a venue partner, which finally allowed me to have the resources to plan new projects as well as put this plan into action.
I want to thank all the fellows of Reframe Theatre for working together to realize this dream. I also appreciate the support from the East Kowloon Cultural Centre, which enables Reframe Theatre to undertake new initiatives. Special thanks to Cantonese voice actor Ceci Chan for traveling all the way to Berlin to record. I am also grateful to Thomas for coming all the way from Berlin to share his work and ideas with us; this is his first visit to an Asian city! Finally, I want to thank the original novel's author, Marlene Haushofer, for writing such a forward-thinking work during the Cold War; her foresight often amazes me!
Lastly, thank you to every audience member attending. I hope you have an enjoyable viewing experience!
Creative and Production Team
Original
The Woman - FLORIANE KLEINPASS
Lynx - ALEXEY EKIMOV
Luise - SABINE OSTHOFF
Hugo - STEFAN MIGGE
The Man - STEFAN DIEKMANN
City Inhabitants:
HENDRIK BERBUIR, ANNEMARIE BOTTEK, WOLFGANG GRAFERS, MANFRED HERRMANN, ANGELIKA HUSEMANN, LAURA MANGALA, CHIARA MOURINHO DOH, STEFAN PETERBURS, CLARA SCHAMP, KAYE AMALIA STOMMEL, SABINE URGESI, SYLVELIN ZENK-KURSCHINSKI
Director: THOMAS KRUPA
VR-Artist: TOBIAS BIESEKE
Costume Designer: MONI GORA
Music Composer and Producer: HANNES STROBL
Spatial Audio Postproduction: THOMAS KOCH
Production and Stage Management: FRIEDERIKE KÜLPMANN
Set Sound: MARKUS HESSE, ADRIAN KAREEV, REINHARD MÜNCHMEYER, MARK RABE
Lighting Design: DARIUS ENGINEER
Dramaturgy: CAROLA HANNUSCH, VERA RING
VR Application: JAN SCHULTEN
Technical Coordination VR Equipment: MARKUS HESSE
Assistant Production Management: CLARA SCHAMP, CHARLOTTE WEIDINGER
Directing Assistant: CHARLOTTE WEIDINGER
Camera Assistant: CLARA SCHAMP
Costume Assistance: LENA NATT
City Mediation: ANNIKA STROSS
Marketing: PATRICIA SCHRÖER
Technical Director Theater: SIEGFRIED ZYWITZKI
Theater Stage Inspector: DANIEL KLEINEN
Director of the Equipment Workshops: RALF GEHRKE
Designers: NICO SPÄTH, SANDRA MEITINGER SCHWARTZE
Stage Masters: THOMAS KRUSENBAUM, ANDREAS LEVEN, JOHANNES SZAMEITAT
Head of Lighting Theater: RAINER VERMÖHLEN
Lighting Masters: DARIUS ENGINEER, CHRISTIAN SIERAU, TIM LUKAS SYMANCZIK
Sound and Video: MARCO ADAMCZYK, MARKUS HESSE, REINHARD MÜNCHMEYER, MARK RABE, JAQUELINE KANNENGIESSER (TRAINEE)
Head of Costume Department Theater: SIMONE DOSIEHN
Chief Make-up Artist Theater: HANNA BETTGES
Head of Machinery, Operations, and Building Technology: TIMON SUDIKATUS
Production of Decorations and Costumes: Workshops of the Theater and Philharmonie Essen GmbH
Hong Kong version
Director: Thomas Krupa
Curator & Cantonese Dubbing Director: Yan Pat To
Translator: Jacqueline Wong
Costume: Moni Gora
Music Composer and Producer: Hannes Strobl
Multi-media Integration: Thomas Koch
Production and Set Management: Friederike Külpmann
Cantonese Voice Actress: Chan Tze Sum
English Voice Actress: Floriane Kleinpass
Producer: Felix Chan
Deputy Producer: Becky Wong
Lighting Designer: Kinphen Leung, Lee Tin Lap
Production Manager: Agnes Lee
Stage Manager: Tsai Sai Ying
Crew: Chim Man Lung, Hsieh Lok Hin, Lee Shing Him
Ticketing: Catherine Tsui, Mo Hiu Shan
Technical Support: Tony Wong
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Director - Thomas Krupa
Thomas Krupa, born in Bonn, is a theater director, set designer, screenwriter and 360° VR filmmaker. He works at the interface of analog theater and its spatial extensions into digital space.
Since 2006 until today he works as a freelance director and stage designer.
Important opera productions: Surrogate Cities by Heiner Goebbels (2002), Weight of the World – Cantatas after Pierre Bourdieu and J.S.Bach (2006) in Düsseldorf or La Damnation de Faust by Hector Berlioz (2007) and Verdi’s Rigoletto 2012 in Freiburg.
Important drama productions among others: 2012 the world premiere of Peter Weiss' The Resistance of Esthetics (Essen), 2014 in Freiburg the world premiere of J.M.Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians, The Bacchae in Karlsruhe as well as in 2017 The Visit (Essen), in 2018 the world premieres of Salman Rushdie's Golden House in Erlangen/Nuremberg and Posthuman Journey in Gießen (2022) written by Hongkong author Pat To Yan.
In 2019, Thomas Krupa founded Collective Archives, a production platform focusing on VR storytelling and the creation of immersive image and sound spaces in the context of performing arts. In 2020 he wrote Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. A requiem. He staged this production himself in a 360-degree video and spatial sound installation by Italian artist Stefano di Buduo and Austrian Composer Hannes Strobl. The production took place in the 300-year-old baroque theatre of Erlangen. This was followed in fall 2021 by The Renaissance of Humility: Elogy or Critique, the first exhibition of Collective Archives in Brussels.
In the same year 2021, Krupa directed Citizen of the Reich 360°, their first 65-minute VR-film produced in 3D-Audio. He then wrote the screenplay for their 360° VRfilm The Wall 360° (67 min.). An adaption, based on the Sci-Fi novel of Marlen Haushofer from 1963 about a woman who suddenly finds herself alone behind a glass wall in a forest. This new 360° VR film was released in 2022. In 2023 the production was shown with great success at various film festivals, among others at The Seriale 9 in Giessen.
At the end of 2023, Krupa won in Hamburg the German Theater Award "Der Faust" together with VR artist Tobias Bieseke for The Wall 360° in the category "Genrespringer".
He has now started to work on the development of the script for Collective Archives’ newest XR production Loyalities 360° based on the novel of the French author Delphine de Vigan.
VR Artist - Tobias Bieseke
Tobias Bieseke is a research assistant at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts in the storyLab kiU at the Dortmunder U (Center for Art and Creativity) and researches the potential of extended perceptions and narration for contemporary art. He experiments within the framework of artistic research and wanders on the threshold between artistic application and scientific investigation of new media. He also works occasionally in the independent creative industry for theaters, universities and business. Since 2018, he has been doing his doctorate at the Academy of Media Arts (KHM) in the field of experimental computer science under Georg Trogemann on the topic of XR Cognitive Narrative Sensemaking - An analysis of the experience of extended realities as staging areas. In 2023, he was able to make the success of his research visible for the first time, where he and Thomas Krupa won the German theater award "Der Faust" in the category Genrespringer for the wall 360° in hamburg. For now he works on the experimental XR Experiences Ndinguwe and Metamorphotica.
Curator & Cantonese Dubbing Director - Yan Pat To
Active in Hong Kong and German Theatre. Playwright, Director, Educator. House Author of Germany Nationatheater Mannheim (2021-2022). Former elected Council Member and the Chairman of the committee of Literary Art of Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Graduated from the University of Hong Kong, majoring in English Literature; the Chinese University of Hong Kong, MA in Sociology; Royal Holloway, University of London, MA in Playwriting.
His play A Concise History of future China (Part 1 of Posthuman Journey) is selected by 2016 Berliner Festspiele Theatertreffen Stückemarkt as one of the five theatre works presented. It is the first ethnic Chinese play ever selected and premiered in Hong Kong New Vision Arts Festival 2016. The German Premiere was produced by The Staatsschauspiel Saarbrücken in 2021. The staged reading (full or abridged version) of this play was already performed in Berlin, London, Munich, New York, Taipei & Mannheim. Posthuman Condition (Part 2 of Posthuman Journey) was produced by Schauspiel Frankfurt in2021. His play in Cantonese White Blaze of the morning is awarded Best Play, the 8th Hong Kong Theatre Libre. Happily ever after nuclear explosion is commissioned by Munich Residenztheater and premiered in June 2018 when he was invited as Artist-in-residence. This play is under the programme of World/Stage. He directed a Cantonese version which was invited by Tai Kwun Theatre Season (HK), Asia Playwright Festival (South Korea) in 2019 and CINARS Biennale Official Programme (Canada) in 2021.
Official IG: @yanpatto
Reframe Theatre Official IG: reframetheatre
photo by Max Zerrahn
Costume Designer - Monika Gora
Born in Lower Bavaria in 1967, studied stage and costume design with Prof Galleé and Prof Kapplmüller at the Mozarteum Salzburg from 1989 - 93. This was followed by an engagement as assistant stage designer at Schauspiel Essen. Monika Gora has been working as a freelance stage and costume designer since 1995. A very creative period with over 200 productions has taken her to the Theatres in Lübeck, Oldenburg, Braunschweig and Mainz, Essen, Krefeld/Mönchengladbach, Meiningen, Bielefeld, Konstanz, Giessen, Oberhausen, Münster, Erfurt, Erlangen, Ingolstadt and Ulm, among others.
From 2007 to 2010, Monika Gora was head of design at Bremen Theatre. From 2009 to 2017, she was head of costume/make-up/props at the Bayreuth Festival. At her own request, Monika Gora has returned to freelance work.
At the beginning of the 2024/25 season, she took over as head of design at the Landestheater Schwaben in Memmingen.
Foto Credit: Lutz Edelhoff
Music Composer & Producer - Hannes Strobl
musician, composer, sound artist, lives in Berlin.
hannesstrobl.de
The essential starting point of his music is the sonic potential of the electric upright bass
and electric bass guitar. Hannes Strobl expands its characteristic expressive repertoire
through the use of special playing techniques in combination with live electronics- the
separation between instrumental and electro-acoustic music is dissolved. He works in
various audio and audiovisual fields such as performances, sound installations,
compositions for theater and video works. The VR-production „The Wall 360°", music
composed by Hannes Strobl received the Faust Prize 2023.
In recent years, Strobl's interest in the instrument and his compositional activity have
increasingly focused on musical forms of expression against the background of urban
sound space as well as on installative works whose starting point is the relationship
between sound and architectural space.
Collaboration with Sam Auinger since 2000 under the project name tamtam.
"Golden_Soundtrack" Manifeste 14; Pristina (XK) "Eleven Songs" Halle am Berghain A100
Der Klang der Berliner Stadtautobahn, CLB Galerie Berlin 2018 (DE), ARS Electronica
Festival 2016 (AT), EXPO Milan 2015 (IT).
Set Production & Management - Friederike Külpmann
Friederike Külpmann, born in Hattingen in 1982, studied communication design, architecture and project development.
Since 2009 she has been realising intermedia works in the field of tension between architecture, stage and costume design, production design, videography, illustration and project development.
From 2018 to 2023, Friederike Külpmann was engaged as head of set design at Schauspiel Essen and during this time she also designed her own stage and costume designs as well as videography for Volker Lösch's world premiere of "AufRuhr", among others .
Since 2023, Friederike Külpmann has been Technical Exhibition Coordinator and Workshop Manager at the Museum Folkwang in Essen.
Here she was responsible, among other things, for the production management of the performances of Marina Abramovic and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.
Cantonese Voice Actress: Chan Tze Sum, Cecilia
Chan Tze Sum, Cecilia graduated from The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 2012 (BFA(Hons), Major in Acting). Cecilia was awarded by The Hong Kong Arts Development Council – The 15th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards, Award for Young Artist (Drama). She also awarded as “Actor/Actress of the Year” (2017) by International Association of Theatre Critics (HK) and “Distinct Actress” by the 10th Hong Kong Theatre Libre (Cecile in “Quai Quest”); Cecilia also being nominated as “Actor/Actress of the Year” (2022) by International Association of Theatre Critics (HK) (Prometheus in “Prometheus Bound”) and “The Best Actress in Leading Role” (Evelyn in “The Shape of Things”) by the 6th Hong Kong Theatre Libre.
Recently performances include: “Flowing Warblers”, “On A New Day”, “Prometheus Bound”, “2021 Who Killed The Elephant”, “Ballads of Expulsion”, “Quai Ouest”(Hong Kong and France tour), “The Second Year of Jianfeng”, “The Attic”, “Kassandra – order Die Welt als Ende der Vorstellung”, “Electronic City” (Hong Kong and Beijing Re-run), “The Ugly One” (Hong Kong and Macau Re-run) by On&On Theatre; “Post Human Condition”, “A Pome in Jail”, “The Histories and their Lovers” by Reframe Theatre X Felixism Creation; “Goldfish of Berlin” (First run and Re-run), “Stream of Consciousness”, “Radiant Vermin” by Reframe Theatre; “The Plague” by HK Arts Festival; “The Unforgettable Chapter” by HK Repertory Theatre; “The Shape of Things”, “Gu Cheng and the Hallow Land” KO The Box.
Cecilia is a freelance actress and drama tutor.