Standstill in the Suez Canal: How consumer terror is blocking Vienna!

Standstill in the Suez Canal: How consumer terror is blocking Vienna!

On Friday, December 13, 2024, the Volkstheater in Vienna will celebrate the premiere of the play “Ever Given,” which highlights the stories of people whose lives are characterized by standstill. Inspired by the famous container freighter “Ever Given”, which blocked the Suez Canal in spring 2021 and thus paralyzed global trade, director Helgard Haug examines the effects of these interruptions on individual lives and social consumer behavior. She explains that the pandemic, like the blockage of the Suez Canal, created awareness of scarcity and called into question our hectic consumer behavior. People sense when trade routes come to a standstill, which makes them aware of their dependence on constant consumption, especially in the hectic pre-Christmas period in Vienna, when “consumer terror” reigns, as Haug describes it, and not out of greed, but as the engine of the global economy.

The director is part of the renowned directing collective Rimini Protocol, known for its innovative approach to theater. Rimini Protocol works on the borderline between reality and fiction and develops its productions based on intensive research in collaboration with amateur actors who tell their own life stories. This is done with the aim of reflecting complex social issues and challenging the audience's perception. Haug, Kaegi and Wetzel, who often work in different combinations, show us with their pieces how the boundaries between stage and reality blur and the audience gains a deeper insight into human fate. This concept was also behind previous projects that dealt with topics such as death or layoffs at the Sabena airline, which exposed the audience directly to the stories of these people, such as Rimini protocol reported.

The new work deals intensively with the personal stories of the protagonists, be it through figure skating or the challenges of living with chronic pain. Haug guides viewers to reflect on the blockages in their own lives and how standing still can lead to a feeling of frenzy when confronted with perceived emptiness. The premiere will therefore not only be a cultural event, but also an invitation to personal and social reflection on the state of our world and the meaning of consumer behavior.