Roots / Routes

The project is inspired by mushrooms and their underground networks (mycelium) as a way to explore themes of connection, community, interdependence, invisible systems, and our relationship to space and place.

Roots / Routes unfolds through a series of site-specific performances in the gardens of LUGA, in the Alzette Valley. The focus is on fast, spontaneous creation in direct dialogue with the gardens, grounded in the personal stories of local residents.

The artistic team offers theatre workshops to share their knowledge and approach, while creating opportunities to engage with the local community. Some participants will have the chance to join the artistic team in the creation of the performance, which will be presented in five different LUGA gardens.

Each performance is developed specifically for—and with—its environment, which is both unique and ever-changing. Personal stories gathered during interviews, as well as the direct influence of the spaces themselves, are woven into the artistic process.

Nature’s invisible networks become a metaphor for thinking about our family and social structures, our sense of place, our connections with others and the things that ground us – specific spaces that help us find our way in the world. This project offers a moment of reconnection, with our surroundings and with our personal and collective narratives.

Through art, we explore ways to make visible a vision of the human being as part of a complex, interconnected web—drawing inspiration from the concept of the rhizome to examine how communities grow and interact.

We use the Viewpoints method of improvisation and theatrical composition to develop site-specific performances inspired by local stories and the unique spaces of LUGA’s urban gardens. Interviews and personal narratives collected during the research phase serve as the foundation for improvisations, creating a direct link with the surrounding communities.

As performing artists, we explore human movement, as well as the structures and dynamics of both natural and cultivated environments—and how these places can inspire stories, whether real or imagined. The performances blend contemporary circus, theatre, and live music, taking inspiration from the invisible networks of mycelium to weave symbolic and literal paths of connection between people and their environment.

We translate the stories of landscapes and communities into movement—balancing nature and culture, the everyday and the imaginary.

The performance sites were chosen in collaboration with LUGA, based on their relevance and accessibility for audiences. Ampersand Variations is experienced in fast-paced, responsive creation. For this project, we will work for seven days in the first garden to develop the piece, and then spend two days in each of the remaining gardens to adapt the performance to each new space.

The collective collaborates with the Ensemble Lucilin for the musical score. The creation brings together professional artists and local participants—encountered through workshops and interviews—to co-create unique, contextual performances that embody the relationship between a place, its stories, and its people.

Direction: Frieda Gerson
With: Claire Thill and others
Music: United Instruments of Lucilin

Date and time: 22 May 2025 – 18:30-19:00
Venue: Alzette valley
Price: Free of charge