Harms fault!Nonsense theatrical puppet concert on prepared accordion, length 50 min

Enter Harms' illogical machine, a contraption that smashes glass, plays symphonies, and triggers stories, incidents, and motifs from one of the last representatives of the Russian avant-garde, Harms-Šardam, Kharms, Dandan, Harmonius… or whoever. Actor, puppeteer, and musician Matija Solce, through gentle animation of soft, realistic puppets, objects, and materials, as well as through grotesque cabaret and instrumental passages, weaves a situational comedy that challenges and provokes contemporary stereotypes through the absurdity of never-ending falling grandmothers.

At the heart of the performance is an original instrument, a composition of accordions, bagpipes, analog mechanisms, doll parts, midi technology, and clocks without hands. This complex orchestrion brings to life Charm’s “Old woman” story and other known and unknown themes. In the blink of an eye, these themes transform from atmospheric lite motifs into sarcastic executions of gentle characters. The audience is treated to an exciting visual, sound, and figurative illusion, witnessing its continuous deconstruction as associative comic fragments escalate into the artist's ultimate defeat.

Kharms met a tragic end, succumbing to starvation in prison on charges of "anti-Soviet activism." In 2022, his mural was removed from his birthplace, this time for no apparent reason. Blame Kharms. For nothing.

Premiere: 9 October 2023, Tunnel LGL

The project was supported by: the Ministry of Culture and the City of Ljubljana

Matija Solce, a renowned and award-winning puppet director, actor, puppeteer and musician, holds a PhD from the DAMU Academy in Prague. His work closely intertwines music and theatre, so his puppet performances are also interactive musical compositions. Often in the form of object theatre, they contain precise rhythmic animation with a fragmented dramaturgy, through which the audience becomes part of the theatrical experiment and is constantly in the process of discovering the unexpected.