Visitors to this temporary theatre in the Netherlands designed by TAAT perform their own play by reading from wooden cubes based on Buddhist prayer wheels.
Named Khor I, the wooden pavilion is constructed from slim timber batons arranged vertically to form overlapping pyramid shapes which vary on each side.
The structure was inspired by a walk through a bamboo forest, explained architect Breg Horemans. "The vertical wooden elements define the space without closing it off. This creates an intimacy that opens itself to the public and embraces the public at the same time," he said.
The theatre is designed for a play that can be performed without any guidance. Visitors are invited to read the script from the rotating cubes as they circulate, echoing the way Buddhist worshippers spin wooden prayer wheels as they move around a temple.
The pavilion was designed for Floriade, the World Horticultural Expo in Venlo. TAAT, which stands for Theatre as Architecture, Architecture as Theatre, is a newly founded company comprising Horemans and theatre practitioner Gert-Jan Stam.
We've featured a number of temporary theatres recently, including a tiny mobile performance space topped with red coal scuttles and a venue made from sheets of pond liner and scaffolding.
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Photographs are by Sina Maleki.
Here's some more information about the theatre:
Khor I by TAAT - a do-it-yourself theatre pavilion exhibited at Floriade, World Horticultural Expo 2012, Venlo, The Netherlands.
In Khor I, the specific challenge is to perform a play without any guidance or introduction. The dramatic situation is simply available and can be ‘filled-in’ and approached freely. Four people read the script out loud every time, without any support or supervision.”
The installation is about movement and meditation. The script, written by Gert-Jan Stam, is incorporated in an installation based on the mechanism of Buddhist “prayer wheels”. In order to read the text, the participants move from one wheel to the next thus performing a slow circle dance around the installation. The experience bears a mantra-like quality: the participants immerse themselves in the performance, momentarily losing any sense of time and space.
Khor I could be considered a theatre-installation. With its monumental quality, it represents a common ground between theatre, architecture and the visual arts. The pavilion, designed by Breg Horemans, is as much an essential part of the installation as is the script. It provides a setting for the play that is both intimate and in touch with the surroundings. Architectural elements are used to introduce the visitors to the play they are about to perform.
The project was initiated by Huis van Bourgondïe in Maastricht, The Netherlands. TAAT (Theatre as Architecture, Architecture as Theatre) was founded in 2012 to support, develop and facilitate the concept and construction of HALL33, KHOR II, ATAT and other theatre-as-architecture/architecture-as-theatre productions.