An area where the land is close to or below sea level is called a plain — lowlands. Lowlands also refers to Freud’s theory, which compares the mind to an iceberg—floating with only one-seventh of its volume above water, the only visible part.

In this piece for eight performers, the creator dives below sea level, into the “unconscious mind,” guiding the artists and audience through the “mental waiting room,” where thoughts remain until they manage to attract the gaze of consciousness. Primitive instincts resurface—desires, fears, urges, beliefs, anxieties, among others—along with impulses kept at a distance, undisguised by the mannerisms of adult etiquette. The physicality connected to the unconscious becomes the main character; the body, its resource.

In an encounter between people in an “empty space,” the search for a common essence may enable a deeper vision of our daily lives and our personal and collective identity.

Through a highly physical and experimental dance and theater aesthetic, Lowlands explores the shadow world of existence, internal stories unfolding beyond language and words. – Helder Seabra