As a deaf, blind, or mobility impaired person, it is uncomfortable when train changes are only announced over the loudspeaker, when one keeps getting lost, or when one cannot lift the shopping basket. Others may be aching to help, but are unsure how. In his works, Aaron Williamson exposes the audience’s bewilderment and their well-meaning pity by turning the tables on them.

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

As a disability artist and activist, Aaron Williamson is opposed to performing or exhibiting in spaces that are not accessible to everyone. In the case of Husets Teater in central Copenhagen, he has however, taken on the challenge to make a performance in a room at the top of the building which has no access by lift or ramp.

The ‘Brothers Grimm’ wrote collections of Germanic and Scandinavian folktales that were published in 1812 in German and very soon after in Danish. One such folktale is ‘Rapunzel’ which relates the story of a young maiden imprisoned in a tower who grows her hair to such a length that her lover-prince can climb up her golden tresses to enter her window. ‘Rapunzel, Rapunzel! Let down your hair!’ – the prince cries.

At Husets Teater an audience will be assembled on the ground in front of the theatre, watching Aaron performing as Rapunzel. Just like the prince in the fairy tale, they cannot enter the building, not even in order to visit the restroom or the bar. So, don´t be too early! The performance starts at 8 PM sharp.

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ABOUT AARON WILLIAMSON (UK)

Aaron Williamson (1960) was born in England and his work is based on his experience of becoming deaf and on a political, yet humorous sensitivity to disability. In a lecture at the University of California, San Diego in 1998, Williamson coined the term ‘Deaf Gain’ as a counterpoint to ‘hearing loss’. Over the past twenty-five years, Aaron Williamson has created more than 300 exhibitions, performances, videos, installations and publications for galleries, museums and festivals for, among others, the Venice Biennale; Nippon Performance Art Festival – Japan; Columbia Uni., Chicago, USA; ANTI Art Festival – Finland, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Serpentine Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and many others. Williamson holds a D.Phil in Literature from the University of Sussex (1997) and has lectured on BA and MA Fine Art courses in the UK (Dartington College of Arts, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, Goldsmiths College); and has also been a guest lecturer for several institutions internationally.

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MANAGING DISCOMFORT PERFORMANCEFESTIVAL

In the spring of 2024, Toaster and Live Art Denmark present the performance festival MANAGING DISCOMFORT, which includes a number of Danish and international artists whose works have the common denominator that they all deal with discomfort, but process it with care and humor.

The festival stretches over seven weeks and each week two new performances are presented, which are staged as a double-bill at Husets Teater. This means that one ticket gives access to both performances, which are separated by a short break.