Swiss Selection Edinburgh, and Mercimax Present 8:8

With a cast of eight accomplices, drawn partly from the Edinburgh community, this intimate performance installation asks how much information you need to form an opinion of someone. How much is it based on looks, or voice, or words? And how much can you trust what people say? 8:8presents audiences of eight people at a time with personal truths, part truths and untruths, shared stories and whispered secrets, formative moments and moments of immorality to create an unsettling examination of how long it takes for us to form judgements and suspicions. The show is presented as part of Swiss Selection Edinburgh, a programme of contemporary Swiss theatre presented by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, at Summerhall.

In 2010, Swiss voters approved a proposal for the automatic expulsion of foreign offenders convicted of crimes including breaking and entering, drug-trafficking and social security fraud, denying judges discretion over the decision to deport people. A counter proposal for case-by-case examination won only 46% of the vote. Partly inspired by a leading youth lawyer who said, "The more you get to know about a person and his background, the harder it becomes to judge and condemn him or her," 8:8 asks how much information is needed to label someone as suspect.

Karin Arnold said, "We are very much looking forward to sharing this piece in Edinburgh. Because we are curious to encounter the people from Edinburgh - and their stories and fantasies. Because we like that in the end you might not know anymore, who is actually looking at who. Because of its simplicity, its intimacy - and the force this little "thing" can create, if the eye to eye moment allows a softening up - allows an encounter."

Mercimax is a theatre and performance collective based in Zurich, Switzerland. With its name it says thank you to a Swiss sailor, who was a big inspiration for their first artistic work. Mercimax collaborates with a diverse group of people and profits therefore from a variety of perspectives. Currently the collective works mainly outside of theatre spaces. It experiments with the audiences' point of view and is searching for ways to integrate spectators - and sometimes also passers-by. Mercimax was awarded with the Kulturelle Auszeichnung of the City of Zürich for theGegenüberstellungs-Series, of which 8:8 is part.

Swiss Selection Edinburgh is a programme of contemporary Swiss theatre presented by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, at Summerhall. The showcase also features Traumboy/Traumgirl and 21: Memories of Growing Up at Summerhall. The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia promotes Swiss arts and culture with a focus on diversity. It supports projects of national interest at home and abroad. Website: prohelvetia.ch; FB/TW/IG: @prohelvetia

Running Time: 25 mins | Suitable for ages 16+

www.mercimax.ch | prohelvetia.ch/edinburgh

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