Nauru is a small island state in the Pacific – once christened »Pleasant Island« by British whalers. The history of the island can be read as a parable of the modern age: After the discovery of huge phosphate reserves, for a short time the small island was among the richest countries in the world. Every piece of land and every garden was dug out, to the very last corner – until the resources were completely exhausted. Within a short time the island’s population was impoverished. For their field research, Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere travelled to Nauru, which is one of the world’s poorest countries today. In order to survive the island is currently accepting refugees from Australia in exchange for extensive financial compensation. But what future can there be for Nauru after its irreversible ecological and economic downfall? In ›Pleasant Island‹ Huysmans and Dereere pursue their investigations into the consequences of extreme mining, beginning with the piece ›Mining Stories‹, and weaving conversations, analyses and recordings into an impressive piece of documentary theatre.

Visit beforehand: 

INGRID LAFLEUR 
›Breathing in Blackness: Temporal Dimensions of Utopia‹

IMPACT19

From and with: Silke Huysmans, Hannes Dereere Dramaturgy: Dries Douibi Technical team: Anne Meeussen, Piet Depoortere Sound mixing: Lieven Dousselaere Production: CAMPO arts centre (Ghent) Co-production: kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Spring Festival Utrecht, beursschouwburg (Brussels), Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek (Saint-Gilles), Veem House For Performance (Amsterdam), SPIELART Festival (Munich), De Brakke Grond (Amsterdam) Supported by: Flemish Community Commission Thanks to the interview partners in Nauru