The Oort Cloud. A vast expanse of space within the boundaries of the Solar System, stretching between the belt of asteroids and cosmic debris that surrounds our planetary system, the Kuiper belt, and the limits of the Sun’s gravitational influence. It has a radius of more than one light year or about one hundred thousand astronomical units, which equates to roughly one trillion kilometres.
Although it has been known to astronomers for almost a century, it is still considered HIPOTETICAL, because its existence has never been observed or proven. We infer it based on analytical thinking and observations of comets passing close to the Earth. It is astonishing that this gigantic space not far from the Earth is still considered hypothetical, considering the size of the galaxies and the universe and the advanced observational and cosmological research capabilities of our time, even though we have irrefutable evidence of the existence of Black Holes, infinitely distant nebulae and galaxies and even tiny Earth-like planets somewhere in the immensity of the cosmos. In this context, the Oort Cloud appears as an interesting metaphor for our imperfect human condition, confusion and stray perception. Gazing into the distance, fascinated by the unreal, the infinitely distant, we do not know and do not fully understand what is in fact right next door and not far away.
THE OORT CLOUD is an intimate solo performance by Alina Bachara directed by Marcin Herich, in which the hypothetical outer space of the title appears as a universal metaphor of refuge, personal Arcadia, a dream of a seemingly nearby, within reach, yet impossible and unattainable oasis of life’s peace, fulfilment and happiness.
script, direction, choreography, light design: Marcin Herich
collaboration on script and choreography, performs: Alina Bachara
texts: Alina Bachara and Marcin Herich
collaboration on space and light design: Cezary Kruszyna
costume design and production: Dorota Kleszcz
music: Darkstar, Paul Schütze, Social Interiors
The performance uses recordings of educational and popular science material taken from Internet resources.
The performance uses original sounds recorded during the Apollo 11 mission, from the NASA archives.
The performance uses the song ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head’, performed by B.J. Thomas.
Duration of the performance: 45 minutes
Premiere: Teatr A Part, Katowice, 6, 7 and 9 March 2025
The performance was awarded in the TEATROGRANTY 2024 competition, organised by Katowice City of Gardens. Krystyna Bochenek Institution of Culture.
CRITICS
X-rays, MRIs, mindfulness practices
In ‘The Oort Cloud’, Marcin Herich, together with Alina Bachara, the protagonist/actress of the monodrama (I suppose that is what one should call it), has risen above earthly matters (with which he had hitherto been preoccupied). Indeed, the story possesses its own overwhelming gravity, symbols, myths and cultural codes, as well as literary classics. And so, one can of course argue whether the theories and hypotheses on which we build our knowledge and views of the universe and the laws of physics – and above all the mathematics with which we calculate all cosmic mysteries – are not perhaps too heavy to allow us to escape Earth’s gravity. What I mean is that ‘The Oort Cloud’ is seeking this passage for itself, trying to break through the barrier of gravity and inertia.
Why venture into uncharted and uncertain realms when the empirical and physical lie within reach? Or perhaps ‘The Oort Cloud’ is not a question of emigration, but of immigration. Of where we came from. Perhaps we have created all our Arcadia’s in the image of this fundamental longing.
The performance is quite minimalist in terms of choreography and visuals compared to A Partu’s classic stage works. There are no elaborate routines or complex symbolic interplay here; even the use of light and the structures that emerge from this interplay is limited. The prologue scene is the most visually striking, both in terms of choreography and metaphor. The famous ‘Vitruvian Man’ illustration has previously been incorporated into cosmic structures (e.g. the ‘Sonda’ programme), but today’s visual technology is able to render this iconic pattern even more vividly and concretely – so in the prologue scene we are presented with a living, sensual image of unity, which constitutes the human body and the celestial bodies – after all, everything originates from the same matter. And perhaps it is precisely this fact that we forget, placing ourselves in a sense outside the universe (as something external to it, created at the end of the whole process), which is why we don all these spacesuits and helmets and ascend into the darkness.
Radosław Kobierski, ‘Silesia’ Social and Cultural Monthly 8/2025
PRESENTATIONS
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 6, 7 and 9 March 2025
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 21 March 2025
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 7 and 8 June 2025 (International Performing Arts Festival A Part)
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 7 September 2025
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 27 September 2025 (Art in the Service of Spirit and Body)
Teatr A Part, Katowice, 28 February 2026
Grotowski Institute Theatre Laboratory Hall, Wrocław, 6 March 2026 (Interstices. Women in the Performing Arts)
Graphic: World Peace Flag by James William van Kirk, with an inscribed visualisation of the Oort Cloud.
Photos: Maciej Dziaczko, Agnieszka Seidel-Kożuch
open gallery view video
