By Ma Wai In, Macao-born writer, playwright and theatre critic, currently residing in Taipei

The fourth production of Familie Flöz, Infinita vows to portray “ordinary” and “everyday” elements to the last details, by choosing the essential stages universal to human life cycle and piercing them together, in order to induce far-reaching life philosophy. From roses on the coffin to table and chairs far too high to climb, from the open fight among four kids over a doll to the dark conspiracy over pills between naughty elderly in the nursing house, stories of the old and young as well as of life and death all embody some physical and psychological vulnerability (despite the difference in physical limits between the two groups).

Infinita puts on stage the two opposite ends of the life spectrum in succession, revealing how close they are to the essence of life more than any other life stages and how full of miracles they are: the first stand as a toddler, the last glimpse of the world, the first time falling in love, the companionship and survival at moments of despair, etc. It is a reminder that all these poetic and beautiful moments are always there but no one really appreciate them closely enough.

As for Familie Flöz, it is difficult to skip their signature style. From their second work Ristorante Immortale onwards, it has removed all lines from the performance and relied solely on visuals and music creations. The most striking and impactful approach is the idea of “masks”, something with a long history in theatre yet applied in such a fun and enjoyable way by the German troupe.

This article is excerpted and translated from Chinese