Bound to Hurt

Art Basel, in collaboration with Theater Basel, presents the Swiss
premiere of musical theater “Bound to Hurt”, a collaboration between Laura Berman, Opera Director at Theater Basel; the artist Douglas Gordon; the performer and soprano Ruth Rosenfeld; British composer Philip Venables and the German-Icelandic Ensemble Adapter.
Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon stages a dark musical performance exploring the sensitive topic of domestic violence. Using a compilation of popular cover songs as its basis, Gordon, one of the world’s most influential video and installation artists, has developed this stage work in collaboration with British composer Philip Venables. In “Bound to Hurt” songs by artists as diverse as Donna Summer, Jacques Brel, alongside more experimental music by Throbbing Gristle, are reimagined as surreal fantasies of violence. The musical score is written especially for the extremely versatile singer and performer Ruth Rosenfeld, best-known for her collaborations with theatre directors Frank Castorf and Herbert Fritsch. Rosenfeld will be accompanied by the German-Islandic chamber music Ensemble Adapter, who are one of the most experimental and genre crossing groups in New Music.
Douglas Gordon’s practice encompasses video and film, installation, sculpture,
photography and text. Through his work, Gordon investigates human conditions like memory and the passage of time, as well as universal dualities such as life and death, good and evil, right and wrong.”Bound to Hurt” is a performance which crosses different media and which spans between different emotional states such as love and hate, tenderness and aggression.
The Basel premiere of “Bound to Hurt” is presented in collaboration with Art Basel. “Bound to Hurt” is a collaboration with HAU (Hebbel am Ufer), Berlin, Internationales Sommerfestival Kampnagel, Hamburg and Theater Basel, supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Berlin.

Performances
Thursday, June 16, 9pm – 10pm, Theater Basel, Kleine Bühne
Friday, June 17, 9pm – 10pm, Theater Basel, Kleine Bühne
Saturday, June 18, 9pm – 10pm, Theater Basel, Kleine Bühne