English whalers once called the island of Nauru ‘Pleasant Island’. This story of a Pacific island nation is just like a parable for the Western world… Or a harbinger of impending global environmental catastrophe. When huge phosphate deposits were discovered, Nauru became one of the richest nations. Digging and mining activities took place all over the island until all natural resources were exhausted. Today, Nauru is one of the poorest countries in the world and provides an intern site for refugees to Australia.

Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere were able to travel to Nauru in 2018. Once there, they spoke with residents and refugees. Because of the threat of reprisals, they did not use any camera equipment and instead restricted themselves to doing interviews with their mobile phones. Their smartphones dominate the stage in this performance. Using them, the performers navigate through their sound and image content, allowing the interview partners to have their say, generating sounds, and thereby creating a clear, unblinkered image of what happens when a finite world decides to rely on infinite growth.

Notes on accessibility: Information about the structural accessibility of the venue can be found here. It includes English written language, which is subtitled in German. Lots of video projections are used.