An audience is sitting on benches and on the floor while observing Anne standing in the centre of a large studio with exposed, wooden beams. Black curtains frame the studio space and a crimson tulle is draped along the curtain in a wave-like pattern. The studio is warmly lit by floor lamps and fairy light clouds. Anne is wearing a crimson boiler suit and her head is shaved. She is resting her hands on her chest while looking up.

Anne is wearing a red boilersuit with a black bodysuit underneath. Her head is shaved and she is using her hands to pull her mouth open.

Anne is wearing a crimson boiler suit which is half-way unzipped, exposing the black bodysuit underneath. She is bending over backwards, her hands twisted towards the sky.

Anne is in a lunging position, the crimson bodysuit halfway off. Her hands frame her face as she smiles kindly at the audience.

An audience member helps Anne put on a black fabric face cover.

Anne is wearing a black face cover, black bodysuit with a cut out back, black leggings, and long black sleeves that extend beyond her arms. She is striking a powerful, slightly menacing pose.

Anne is squatting down, tying the buckles of a pair of black cantilever shoes. She is gazing attentively at the audience.

Anne smiles gently as she holds the hand of an audience member with the other hand on her heart.

The audience is surrounding Anne in the studio. She has a concerned look on her face as she looks over her shoulder. She is wearing a black bodysuit with a cut out back.

Anne rests one hand on her heart. Her gaze is downcast and she looks disheartened.

Photography: Julia Bauer and Jassy Earl

In My Dreams (2023)

Once there was a heart and it was reeling

Turning on its axis, withstanding the laws of nature

The heart was a fragile creature, misguided about the way things really are

The heart put itself into many things

It put a lot into you

That heart was mine

That heart was foolish,

and it was mine

In My Dreams is a transdisciplinary solo performance - an amalgamation of installation, spoken word, choreography, song, and bodily metamorphosis.

It uses sonic layering and mixing as fundamental methods and consists of two parts: a 17-minute sound installation and a 30-minute live performance.

The work is about a love that runs in circuits; coming back. Again. And again. It returns with an intensity that makes you wish it would stop. It's about the desires of the heart revealed through dreams. It's about the relentless attachment and re-construction of identity and relationships. Relationships that break apart when one person disintegrates and is rearranged in a new constellation.

"At first, it seemed to be a performance about transcending identity for both performer and audience, but perhaps it’s actually about connections between people? Or maybe it’s about the ephemeral nature of being, and how time and people are non-linear? At times, I wonder if it’s just about love.” (Anne)

In My Dreams premiered at Tramway, Glasgow in February 2023.

Credits:

Anne Kjær: concept, composer, performer

Lucy Cash: mentor

Alistair MacDonald: mentor

Watch the trailer for In My Dreams: