From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
The Rooftop Reciprocal
This article is about the 2016 Austrian devised-theatre work. For the original Bolton Street car park crossing sequence, see Beach Surgery (story). For other theatrical interpretations, see Theatre adaptations.
An Austrian devised work reimagining the Bolton Street car park wires crossing as simultaneity rather than sequence. Two performers—one as Katita with red hair and sword-hilt, one as a bandaged Leif—traverse parallel wires suspended above the audience's heads in opposite directions, beginning at opposite ends of the dark theatre. For the first twenty minutes they move without synchrony. At the midpoint they lock eyes. They continue past each other, but their movements now mirror in strict reverse: when one advances, the other steps backward; when one reaches for balance, the other deliberately lets go. The one side of a coin becomes literal.
The wires begin to vibrate. A low drone emerges—described by witnesses as emerging from the wires themselves, though no visible speakers are present—a sonic rendering of the sound of the earth rubbing against space. Katita (to no one): “"We're going the same direction and it goes the whole way around."” Both performers reach their destination wires simultaneously. They stand for three minutes in red light. The lights cut.
The original video documentation was restricted to Koenig's estate and has never been publicly released; bootleg recordings from different performances show slight variations in timing and wire tension.