Bastion 2492 (2017)

Everything in the outside world is hostile and alien. Only the bastion is safe. Over 400 years ago, the community retreated, turning its back on the horrors of the world.

Inside the fortress, the audience meets the Guardian. She works in total seclusion, carrying out a series of protocols to maintain the bastion’s complex defense system: The Guardian monitors the protective Styrn, which covers the fortress like a dome, sheltering the community from harm. But one day the Guardian discovers something that casts doubt on the community’s ancient myths.
In Bastion 2492, an audience of 12 plays through a dark future scenario, solving puzzles together and investigating just who it is that’s being protected inside the fortress—and from what? An immersive experience that blurs the lines between radio play, interactive installation, and performance.

Premiere / Venues

Premiere June 2017 at the Belluard Bollwerk International Festival, Fribourg

A person in safety goggles and some sort of protective suit is in a basement vault with two other people in street clothes.
In a basement room, a shelf with plastic plants and several large cubes made of white plastic and wire. Some people are there.
A group of people lean over a device with cables on a table, which is lit by a ceiling lamp.
A shiny device with cables on a table. Two pairs of hands grasp the cable.
A person in safety goggles and some sort of protective suit is in a basement vault with two other people in street clothes.
A person looks at their arm. Their hand is in a black plastic glove, on their wrist an object made of plastic plants.
Various bottles hang upside down on a wall in a holder where they can be opened and closed individually.

Credit: Margaux Kolly

Concept: machina eX /// Concept, Direction and Artistic Direction: Clara Ehrenwerth /// Concept and Text: Victor Kümel /// Production and Technical Direction: Philip Steimel /// Performance: Joséphine de Weck/// Performance (Voicemail): Nicolas Mueller /// Equipment: För Künkel /// Tech, Programming, and Interactive Design: Lasse Marburg /// Sound Design: Malu Peeters /// Production Assistance: Aude Bourrier /// Production Assistance: Mirjam Hildbrand /// Translation: Raphaëlle Lacord

Production:Belluard Festival. Made possible by a cultural grant from the Kanton Freiburg and by contributions from Pro Helvetia and Migros Kulturprozent

With thanks to Veronique Bourrier, Catherine Huber, Henrike Iglesias, Eddy Kunz, Annick und Vincent Perrenoud , Manuel Quartier, Yves Regenass, Sacha Ruffieux, Familie Schnell, Fabienne Vuarnoz, Antoinette and Bruno de Weck, and the open source community around the world