The Greenhouse
An interdisciplinary eco-theatre experience blending dance, puppetry, and spatial art.
The Greenhouse is an ambitious multidisciplinary performance combining contemporary dance, physical/figure theatre, and stage design to challenge audiences to reflect on coexistence, communication, and the interconnectedness of all living things.
Running time - 1 Hour 5 minutes
Premiere - 14.05.2025 - Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster (DE)
Funded by Stadt Münster, Co-produced by Theater im Pumpenhaus, Residency space provided by Kloster Bentlage
Video Links
The Greenhouse was created and sustained by the collective dedication of all involved, where contributions often reached far beyond the bounds of assigned roles
Director: Emilio H. Díaz Abregú
Concept development/Choreography: Jack Widdowson
Production management: Charlie Petersen
Stage, light and puppet design: Emilio H. Díaz Abregú
Performers: Viva Foster, Jessica Akers, Jack Widdowson
Apprentice: Hanna Sponer
Sound operator: Enno Oldenbüttel
Photography: Meike Reiners, Aorta Besler, Mario Soose
Videography: Lioba Schmidt, Mustafa Khalaf
Concept & Theme
The piece unfolds in a surreal, ever-evolving garden-like environment where nature, waste, and technology form a symbiotic relationship. Three performers inhabit this ecosystem alongside a host of puppet-like figures, strange beings who each tend to the greenhouse in their own way. Some appear to have established a renewable rhythm of living, while others seem to be searching for one. The boundaries between performer and puppet blur, with gestures and intentions passing fluidly between them. Rather than dominating these figures, the performers respond to them, creating a fragile choreography of coexistence. The audience is invited to peer into this evolving world; part utopia, part dystopia; where every small action plays a role in sustaining a delicate and poetic balance.
Sustainable Design
The stage is built entirely from repurposed cardboard. Six ROOM IN A BOX ‘GRID’ tables, crafted from recycled material, form a stable and adaptable base for our modular scenography. Around them, a landscape of cardboard elements unfolds: sheets and boxes sourced from street corners, bike shops, and leftover moving materials, all reimagined into a living, breathing environment. This layered approach to design reflects The Greenhouse’s core values, transforming waste into beauty, and imagining new ecosystems from what we leave behind.
