High-Rise
A musical fever dream about humanity in free fall.
After successful adaptations of literary classics ILIAS and The Master and Margarita, KONVOOI takes on the dystopian ‘70s novel High-Rise by J.G. Ballard in their newest music theater production. KONVOOI constructs a musical, absurd, and unsettling portrayal of fear, depicting humanity's desperate attempt to save itself against all odds.
Run time 90 minutes
Genre Musical theatre
Language Dutch
High-Rise
Following the advice of her brother Bobby, Alice, an eccentric mathematician, moves to an apartment on the twenty-fifth floor of a modern high-rise. The building is fully equipped: a gym, a supermarket, and a lush rooftop terrace. The higher you go, the more expensive the apartments become. All necessities are readily available, and every comfort is provided – for a while. Because from the moment Alice moves in, inexplicable events start occurring. Gradually, the building, along with the relationships between its residents, begins to deteriorate. Strangely, no one seems willing to intervene. While Alice tries to grasp the gradual decay of the building, the other residents adapt. Some even disappear. Her brother Bobby refuses to leave his apartment. Meanwhile, the wealthy architect of the building, Royal, peers down with fascination from his penthouse on the roof. Simultaneously, the disgruntled documentary filmmaker Wilder relentlessly makes his way up from the ground floor. High-Rise is an absurd, unsettling, and musical portrayal of humanity in free fall.
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With High-Rise, KONVOOI raises the question: “How to cope with the feeling that the world will become uninhabitable in the foreseeable future?” They explore not only the complacent issues of our society, but also the nature of fear itself. KONVOOI’s familiar style of classical harmony is combined with electronic music for this unsettling vision of the future, where classical music, bass, and drums take center stage.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
In 2019, KONVOOI made its successful debut with ILIAS as part of the talent development program Orkater/De Nieuwkomers. Its second production, De meester en Margarita, in 2021, again received much praise from both critics and audiences. The production was selected for het Nederlands Theater Festival in 2022. Following the Nieuwkomers trajectory, KONVOOI has committed itself to Orkater for the coming years.
Orkater has been the leading music theater company in the Netherlands for fifty years, telling stories that are relevant today and where music holds as much value as language. Orkater productions are direct, sensitive, daring, and generous.
Credits
a performance of KONVOOI
actors Jacob de Groot, Jasper van Hofwegen, Victor IJdens, Bart Sietsema, Imke Smit
director Belle van Heerikhuizen
actors theater tour Jasper Stoop
set Ruben Wijnstok
costumes Esmée Thomassen
composition Jimmi Hueting
musical production Jan van Eerd
dramaturgy Liesbeth Coltof
lightning design Stefan Dijkman
sound design Bram Anneveldt
choreography Erik Bos
thanks to Aniek de Rooij
