What happens when baroque allegories pierce the present? How does hope sound today—and what reveals itself in the spaces in between?

In A Masque for the Multiverse, laborgras and CONTINUUM celebrate an extraordinary encounter between the baroque and the contemporary. Drawing inspiration from the masque—a once-radical art form at the English court under Charles I—the evening unfolds as a richly layered composition of sound, movement, light, text, and voice. Together with eight instrumentalists, three singers, and four dancers, we offer a sensuous, tactile, and open reinterpretation of this historical tradition.

The musical foundation is formed by works of William Lawes, Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, Thomas Morley, and John Bennet, as well as compositions from Shara Nova’s opera You Us We All, in which baroque allegories such as Hope, Love, and Death reflect on the pressing questions of our time. Despite the 400 years that separate these works, past and present meet in a strikingly similar way: both tell stories of transformation, longing, and identity—with gravity, wit, tenderness, and a quiet sense of irony.

Set within a continuously shifting space, A Masque for the Multiverse invites the audience to move freely, choose their own perspectives, and decide how close—or how distant—they wish to be to the unfolding events. Choreographic and musical tableaux emerge like living mosaics: fleeting encounters, sonic tensions, shifting states. Rather than following a linear narrative, the evening reveals a poetic landscape of perception, presence, and resonance. A walk-in composition that touches, unsettles, and inspires.

A Masque for the Multiverse opens a space for transformation and reflection—a bridge between historical tradition and the cultural currents of our time. A unique experience for those drawn to the dialogue between past and present, music and movement—and to everything that arises in the spaces in between.

Artistic Direction: laborgras Renate Graziadei & Arthur Stäldi
Idea/concept/curation: CONTINUUM (Liam Byrne, Viola Blache, Elina Albach) & laborgras
Musical direction: Elina Albach
Artistic cooperation: Barbara Weigel
Choreography and dance: Renate Graziadei in collaboration with Rosalind Masson, Abraham Iglesias Rodriguez, Miguel Gonzalez Padilla
Dramaturgy: Arthur Stäldi
Composition: Shara Nova, William Lawes, Orlando Gibbons, William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Bennet
Music: CONTINUUM
Arrangement: Liam Byrne
Soprano: Viola Blache
Alto: Bernadette Beckermann
Bass: Martin Schicketanz
Saxophone: Asya Fateyeva (2025)
Cornetto: Anna Schall (2024)
Violin & Viola: Ildiko Ludwig
Viola da Gamba: Mirjam Luise Münzel, Liam Byrne
Lute: Pieter Theuns (2025), Jonas Nordberg (2024)
Harps: Babett Niclas
Vibraphone, Glockenspiel, Historical Drums: Lola Mlacnik
Harpsichord & Organ: Elina Albach
Lighting Design: Kevin Sock
Costume Design: Claudia Janitschek
Assistant costumes: Manja Beneke
Make up and Hair (Pictures Postcards): Kati Heimann
Press and public relations: Yven Augustin / AugustinPR (2025), k3-berlin (2024)
Social Media: Marcelo Vilela da Silva
Pictures: Phil Dera
Design: Mia Sedding
Production management: MIFRUSH Production (Micaela Trigo & Urszula Heuwinkel)