The Chair is based on Mikael Eriksson’s play of the same title. Set in a U.S. state prison in 1972, it follows Bill and Peggy-Sue as they wait for their drummer in a prison storage room. Bill plays bass and works as a prison guard; Peggy-Sue, his girlfriend, plays guitar.

From this simple premise, the chamber play explores good and evil, love and dependency, art and craft, and the contradictory roles people occupy within a system.

The story unfolds during the Vietnam War, when executions in the United States had effectively ceased. Following the execution of Luis José Monge in 1967, a nationwide de facto moratorium remained in effect until executions resumed in 1977. War, state violence, and the temporary suspension of capital punishment form the play’s historical backdrop.

The video translates this setting into a collage of music, text, and found footage. Soundscape guitar, bass, circuit bending, and voices are combined with texts by Robert Fitterman, an excerpt from Halber Mensch by Einstürzende Neubauten, and rescreened video material by Richard Kern and Nick Zedd.

Mikael Eriksson: video and sound mix
Klaus Killisch: soundscape guitar
Great Destroyer: bass
Marc Gröszer: circuit bending
Robert Fitterman: vocals
Frieda Feller: vocals
Featuring Lutte Berg: guitar
Excerpts from Halber Mensch by Einstürzende Neubauten, and Buckets of Sin and Buzzard Blade by Robert Fitterman.
Rescreened video material by Richard Kern and Nick Zedd.
Duration: 14:44 min
Completed: 2023