A 90-minute Performance in Development in 2027

A show about Long Covid, isolation, whales, and the fragile connections between human bodies and the ecosystems they inhabit.

The performance will combine autobiographical storytelling, live choral singing, and traditional stories. A traditional story about a raven and a stranded whale will provide the planned mythological framework for a journey between a body confined to a darkened room and the highly sensitive acoustic world of whales.

The collaborative artistic development will take place in 2027 and lead towards a planned premiere in the same year.

Research

In 2023, Katinka Kraft spent many months largely confined to her room due to Long Covid, isolated from light, sound, and people. The experience of sensory overload became the starting point for an artistic research into whales and their acoustic environments.

In 2024, she received a research fellowship in Performing Arts from the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. As part of the research, she spent several weeks at sea off La Gomera, speaking with biologists, whale-watching guides, and people with Long Covid and ME/CFS.

This research forms the foundation for the new production. 

Planned Accessibility

Accessibility is a central part of the planned artistic development. The production will explore different forms of access, including a lying performance for people with chronic health conditions or sensory sensitivities, as well as performances with German Sign Language (DGS).