I am very lucky that I have never been in a medically induced coma myself. However and unfortunately, too many people around me have been so. They have told their stories – their dreams – and these stories struck me. They struck me because they were the answer to all the questions I had when I stood in front of the hospital bed. There are no answers.

Eerie Days is a metaphorical performance that does not aim at depicting one particular person’s coma dreams but rather giving an impression of how medically induced coma is experienced – a state of mind. It gives an idea how a person’s perception is altered through strong drugs, and how different and difficult the perception of a daily situation can become for someone who is imprisoned in a body that cannot move or communicate but whose brain nevertheless keeps perceiving the outside world.

The audience’s experience of this performance hopefully sheds some light on the mysteries of coma – a state where any human communication becomes impossible. Because it can happen at any time.

REVIEWS

Amsterdam Fringe Festival.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is Eerie Days: a profound installation by Claudia Hansen. Visitors sit in a dreamy white space on a bed surrounded by flowers. Wilted flowers, because we have been there for a while. Hansen immersed herself in people's experiences in a medically induced coma. While hypnotic music is played, we see on video what they see: dreamy, colorful landscapes and distorted faces. On tape, Hansen poses confrontational questions about living and dying. With its subtle way, the atmospheric Eerie Days makes you reflect.
- NRC - translated by Claudia Hansen

Amsterdam Fringe Festival.
With a small group of visitors, I step into the elevator that brings us to the top of the Compagnietheater. With these strangers, I will experience the intense installation Eerie Days by Claudia Hansen. We take off our shoes and lie down in a kind of nursing home including get-well flowers and white curtains. With Hansen’s projections and music, we find ourselves in a comatose state. While we stood quietly and uncomfortably in the tight elevator before the start of the performance, we talk about life and death afterward.
- theculturallifestyle.nl - translated by Claudia Hansen

Eerie Days is kindly supported by the AFK (Amsterdam Fund for the Arts) and Hi-Fi Klubben Amsterdam.