In "Follow the dopamine", the performance collective Merle | Mischke | Klee examines characteristics typical of ADHD, such as enthusiasm, creativity and empathy, and reflects on how different concentration, impulsiveness and emotional vulnerability feel. No two brains are the same, although this is not visible from the outside. How do you learn not to draw conclusions about others from yourself? The three performers seek constant togetherness, becoming a group that skips, dances and intertwines, questioning how to be mindful of the needs and abilities of others. The artists perform with an interactive stage set made of silver pipes and glowing tubes that are reminiscent of neuronal connections. The sound that the materials make becomes the soundtrack. The trio indulges in phases of hyperfocus and repeatedly succumbs to chaos, distraction and exhaustion. 

The artists conducted numerous interviews with neurodivergent people and collected anecdotes, which are heard in the performance. Elena Bulochnikova and Jasiek Mischke live with ADHD and together with their neurotypical collaborators, they reflect on how neurodiversity shapes friendships, (working) relationships and our social coexistence. 

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Relaxed Performance

Merle | Mischke | Klee also invites people to visit the theatre who may feel uncomfortable with conventional theatre etiquette. This performance aims to create a more relaxed space in which audible audience reactions or movements are allowed. At the beginning of the performance, the audience first enters the stage area and can get very close to the stage objects. The audience then spreads out over two tribunes opposite each other with chairs to sit on. During the one-hour performance, the entrance door remains unlocked and soft lights make it possible to leave the stage, to take a break in the quiet foyer and to return at any time. In the middle of the piece, it gets very loud and the lights change abruptly. The performance focuses on ADHD in adulthood and you can hear some very emotional stories about neurodiversity spoken in English and German. The piece is aimed at an audience aged 15 and over.