The practice of speed dating, invented in the late 90s, has the purpose of encouraging people to meet as many other people as possible. It works as follows: groups of people get together for a sequence of short meetings, in which they will sit in front of a stranger and talk about whatever subjects they want. Each meeting lasts a few minutes and is interrupted by the sound of a bell. Then, each participant makes a list of who they would like to meet again; if there is any correspondence, contacts details are exchanged. Surveys conducted with the participants of these meetings indicate that most people make their choices in the first thirty seconds of each meeting. SPEED DATE is a multiple choice theatrical show, a labyrinth installation, an immersive performance, in which a small group of spectators and a small group of performers together build a personal and unrepeatable event, full of repetitions and distortions, forgetfulness and discoveries, alleys dead ends and secret passages, like a walk through the mirror room of an amusement park.
concept Alex Cassal staging and dramaturgy Alex Cassal, Keli Freitas, Renato Linhares and Márcia Lança performers 10 to 30 local artists and non-artists invited light design Tomás Ribas photos Márcia Lança and Augusto Fernandes production Má-Criação coproduction Festival Linha de Fuga and Oficina Teatro Municipal – Teatrão with the support of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Emergency Fund
OPENING
Festival Linha de Fuga, Coimbra PT, September 2020