Western Society

A collective reenactment of the least watched video on the internet

No one is where they are. They are talking to someone miles away. I miss them. But they are missing out
– Sherry Turkle in Alone Together

In the beginning, the gods gave us liberty. In the end, we discovered cheating…
– Sheila Heti

Western Society is a portrait of civilisation in the 21st century, like a frame through which we can peep into the living room of an unknown family, and recognize ourselves. In a far corner of the internet, Gob Squad have found a fairly unspectacular home video, of a family gathering somewhere at the edge of the western world, a waste product of our civilisation. There’s a party going on. A room full of people. Family, friends and strangers are gathered around a karaoke machine, alone together and together alone.

Gob Squad, dressed head to toe in gold, want to bring this little moment of lived reality back to life and they want to get the image just right. As the reconstruction gets underway, they search for answers, ponder the nature of true happiness, show their best sides and spill their stories, projecting themselves into this tiny piece of history. 

Western Society is inviting and isolating. It’s heaven and hell. For some, the splendid decadence is a nightmare, for others a place they wished they could be.  It’s an endless party and everybody’s there: young, old and everyone in between, and with a bit of luck, you could be there too.

First performance: 5th October 2013 at HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Germany