As one of more than 120 artists, I have contributed to the trilogy Satan’s Democracy, Satan’s Delirium and Satan’s Death; an immersive theatre and art manifestation re-imagining Michail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita; a continuous happening extended over three years and 3500 square metres… where my part was the making of a Passage Room on the third floor – neighbouring the Prime Minister’s bedroom and the gloomy home of the sweatshop workers, somewhere halfway between the uncanny Forest and the cursed flat of Woland.
Passage Room part 1: Satan’s Democracy (2015)
This is the beginning of the Passage Room; a former office space, where the copy machine and filing shelves got replaced with running paint and tarpaulins, muffling dark felt and an access tunnel of airy red silk; with spotlights, mirrors and coloured shadows; with charcoal and ashes and a floor cover of fine-graded black sand.
The Passage Room taking shape;
process photos HHW.
Blogpost: Meanwhile,
***
Passage Room part 2: Satan’s Delirium (2016)
In the second part of the trilogy, the audience was drawn into the delirium of a ferocious Prosecutor left alone after the unhappy conclusion of Satan’s Democracy; a winding path was laid out through the three storeys of the scenography, and presented to the audience along with a three-course meal. As the 150+ rooms were blackened out – in order to be explored mainly by torchlight – the Passage Room was upgraded with mirror shards from the ceiling to the floor… but otherwise left more or less intact.
Details from the Passage Room in 2016; photo HHW.
Blogpost:
Back in the House of Nameless Storeys; part two, Satan’s delirium
Textile object Ullva (HHW.) and graffiti palimpsest by Andreas Blom;
photo HHW.
***
Passage Room part 3: Satan’s Death (2017)
In preparation for Satan’s Death, all scenography got completely whitewashed – with the exception of a few hidden spaces, such as the Passage Room. Inside that pale limbo, only one actor remained: Woland/Angela Wand. In addition, four musicians were allocated in different parts of the building – but connected to each other over FM radio, and broadcasted live into the headphones offered to each visitor; dressed up in strange and beautiful costumes, in accordance with the dreamlike atmosphere, they performed a piece written for the occasion by composer Magnus Larsson. The audience were encouraged to take active part in exploring and transforming the settings – as were we, the artists.
Compost performance in the Passage Room;
photo credit: What Took You So Long
Impersonating Lussi, the heathen Bride of the Winter Solstice, I adopted the basics of performance; ambling slowly along the corridors, ending up in the living body of the compost – along with earthworms and a couple of tiny white spiders – offering visitors ripe fruits and warm soil.
Lussi/Compost performance;
photo credit Mia Malcyone
Passage Room compost and fungi in crystal shaped plexi container;
photo HHW.
Blogposts:
Satan’s Death
Passage Room@Satan’s Death (construction)
Passage Room@Satan’s Death (performance)
***
Curious for more? Welcome to take a stroll inside the house (as of 2015) with Google Streetview…
…or take part of snapshots from all three seasons along with a video message of the great & late Woland (embodied by Angela Wand):
All filmed material from the trilogy is available at Satan’s Democracy website.
