In Hungarian.
After launching an attempted coup d'état, a band of radical freedom-seeking militants occupy a television studio in order to address the population, demanding that the people resist the ruling regime's new ‘Clear Eyes’ program, which aims at isolating the population from what it sees as the more unpleasant aspects of life. The government plan to protect citizens from malevolent spirits and harmful influences, and give them a new perspective and general sense of satisfaction, by using a method that is, among other things, a biological experiment.
The militants' act of violent rebellion against the ‘Clear Eyes’ program fails to gain support, and by the end of the day the revolution has been crushed.
Years later, awakening from a long slumber, the audience members who had been taken hostage in the television studio find themselves in a rehabilitation clinic, where attempts are made to reintegrate them into the now-flourishing society by erasing their unpleasant memories. But there is only space for those who are willing to learn how to see with new eyes, and who are capable of forgetting what needs to be forgotten.
The workers at the clinic select Áron – the man who foiled the terror attack – to relive the unhappy experiences of his own past. The nurses call up his memories and replay them as if in a living wax museum. A narrator – the Chief Doctor – and his staff guide the audience through the story in order to help them interpret what they are seeing, as live events, and the performance itself, are manipulated.
This fable of a utopia-cum-nightmare is concerned with modern brainwashing, how the media and the political world find the ‘weak points’ which allow us to be controlled, and the nature of intentional isolation – from facts, from information, from other cultures, and finally, from each other.
‘Not long ago, the idea behind ‘Clear Eyes’ would have seemed like a flight of fancy straight out of science fiction. Today, we have proved that we are not just a group of fanatics. Previous beliefs have been shattered, and thanks to the support of the state, a life without anxiety is achievable for everybody. This is the dawn of a bright new day, in which everyone can believe.’
Actors: Károly Hajduk, Anna Hay, Julia Jakubowska, Tamás Ördög, Sándor Terhes
Music: Márk Bartha
Scenography: Jenny Horváth
Video Animation: Gábor Karcis
Cameraman: András Táborosi
Light: Kata Dézsi
Technical Director: Márk Szapu
Production Assistant: Réka Budavári, Julcsi Szabó
Producer: Anikó Rácz
Dramaturg: Gábor Thury
Director: Martin Boross
Special thanks for participating in the video: Artner Igor Olivér, Kiss Diána Magdolna, Alexis Latham, Schnábel Zita, Szabó Zola, Velancsics Gabriella
And: Borsos Luca, Fischer Balázs, Fullár Gyula, Kiss Károly, Kovács Marianne, Songoro Laura, Szántó Eszter, Tóth Péter, Uray Gergő, Zách Anita
Supporters: Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma, Nemzeti Kulturális Alap, FÜGE Produkció, Artus Stúdió
The performance is co-produced by Trafó House of Contemporary Arts and STEREO Akt.
After launching an attempted coup d'état, a band of radical freedom-seeking militants occupy a television studio in order to address the population, demanding that the people resist the ruling regime's new ‘Clear Eyes’ program, which aims at isolating the population from what it sees as the more unpleasant aspects of life. The government plan to protect citizens from malevolent spirits and harmful influences, and give them a new perspective and general sense of satisfaction, by using a method that is, among other things, a biological experiment.
The militants' act of violent rebellion against the ‘Clear Eyes’ program fails to gain support, and by the end of the day the revolution has been crushed.
Years later, awakening from a long slumber, the audience members who had been taken hostage in the television studio find themselves in a rehabilitation clinic, where attempts are made to reintegrate them into the now-flourishing society by erasing their unpleasant memories. But there is only space for those who are willing to learn how to see with new eyes, and who are capable of forgetting what needs to be forgotten.
The workers at the clinic select Áron – the man who foiled the terror attack – to relive the unhappy experiences of his own past. The nurses call up his memories and replay them as if in a living wax museum. A narrator – the Chief Doctor – and his staff guide the audience through the story in order to help them interpret what they are seeing, as live events, and the performance itself, are manipulated.
This fable of a utopia-cum-nightmare is concerned with modern brainwashing, how the media and the political world find the ‘weak points’ which allow us to be controlled, and the nature of intentional isolation – from facts, from information, from other cultures, and finally, from each other.
‘Not long ago, the idea behind ‘Clear Eyes’ would have seemed like a flight of fancy straight out of science fiction. Today, we have proved that we are not just a group of fanatics. Previous beliefs have been shattered, and thanks to the support of the state, a life without anxiety is achievable for everybody. This is the dawn of a bright new day, in which everyone can believe.’
Actors: Károly Hajduk, Anna Hay, Julia Jakubowska, Tamás Ördög, Sándor Terhes
Music: Márk Bartha
Scenography: Jenny Horváth
Video Animation: Gábor Karcis
Cameraman: András Táborosi
Light: Kata Dézsi
Technical Director: Márk Szapu
Production Assistant: Réka Budavári, Julcsi Szabó
Producer: Anikó Rácz
Dramaturg: Gábor Thury
Director: Martin Boross
Special thanks for participating in the video: Artner Igor Olivér, Kiss Diána Magdolna, Alexis Latham, Schnábel Zita, Szabó Zola, Velancsics Gabriella
And: Borsos Luca, Fischer Balázs, Fullár Gyula, Kiss Károly, Kovács Marianne, Songoro Laura, Szántó Eszter, Tóth Péter, Uray Gergő, Zách Anita
Supporters: Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma, Nemzeti Kulturális Alap, FÜGE Produkció, Artus Stúdió
The performance is co-produced by Trafó House of Contemporary Arts and STEREO Akt.
Emberi Erőforrások Minisztériuma, Nemzeti Kulturális Alap, FÜGE Produkció, Artus Stúdió
