Máté Mészáros: Pitch Black River

All are highly experienced creators in their respective fields, and through their collaboration, they explore the interconnectivity of their worlds within a third, fictional space. This fictional space is created through music, movement, video projection, and the world of a video game. The “playful self” manifests itself in two ways on stage: as the conscious controller and as the physical projection of its unconscious feelings.

The question of twilight and darkness can be interpreted as an aesthetic starting point. In this environment, a sense of indeterminacy emerges—an existence in a gray zone, even in a visual sense—which can most easily be compared to the state before waking. Furthermore, the physiological reaction that only video projection can elicit—and no other theatrical lighting—is decisive. The projection becomes a tool for altering our perception of reality: it disrupts the visual experience generated by the linearity of the cornea, retina, optic nerve, and brain, thus presenting the brain with a continuous task of reinterpretation.

In terms of genre, the performance also operates in a border zone: it can be interpreted as visual art rather than a traditional dramaturgy-driven performance. The goal is to keep the audience within this space, evoking strong emotions through an experience that does not point to a single point. The price of existing on this borderline is that the audience must relinquish their decision-making role and accept a state of not knowing. Thus, the playful attitude experienced on stage becomes the optimal attitude for the audience.