CAFE BON BON PRESS
An entertaining international line-up. The desire and courage to take part in unusual situations with a light erotic touch was asked of the audience. It takes some convincing to allow yourself to be whisked away alone with a performer into back rooms and hotel rooms without knowing what awaits you. They were basically harmless yet extremely elegant psychological games with the deeper purpose of breaking down the fear of intimate contact with strangers. Between it all was an excellent musical line-up. Very innovative and entertaining.
- Ingrid Feilmayer, Neues Volksblatt Linz
How can I put down on paper the words to explain my feelings and still make sense? To say I enjoyed it is simply stupid. To say it felt authentic is more than bloody cheek. I will never know what it really feels like to be a 22 year-old Nigerian refugee. However, beginning a day before the actual event, I felt excited about the project and being a participant called Umar.
From the moment I stuck my head in the refrigerator, I was completely involved. The play had started; the soft voice on the CD was my only guidance through the night to come. I was so involved that at times my eye movements were happening before the voice told me to make exactly that movement. The first time this happened I wished there had been a secret eye filming it for later reference.
The whole night started at 7.15 when my first preparations were made, all according to the printed paper I received the day before. It was a total mixture of intense feelings: bewilderment, excitement, anxiousness, worry, fun, and amusement. It was a great experience. I was totally participating in the action of it - in the beginning only as Umar - and later during the party at Cafe Bon Bon, Harmen came in and joined me.
The whole experience went under my skin, deep into my guts and stirred around a while using all my senses. Great.
- Harmen Tromp, linz conservatory
Café Bon Bon is an artistically trailblazing and exceptionally discerning political performance project. Contemporary theatrical practices are intertwined with a deeply humanistic stance that awakens present day social issues. It was absolutely inspiring to look at your own city through the eyes of a stranger. It enabled the familiar to become foreign and to relativize one's own perceptions.
- Claudia Seigmann und Markus Zeindlinger, theaternyx