The Werkstattbühne theatre space was the venue for three music theatre works as enthralling as they were different: Borrowed Light, Study for Life, and Emily – No Prisoner Be, which put the focus on devotion and community, spiritual freedom, and powerful sensory experience.
For the first two productions, in late July, the Tero Saarinen Company made its first guest appearance in Bregenz. Well-known Finnish choreographer Saarinen’s huge international success Borrowed Light was performed there on 23 July 2025. The piece – a hypnotic fusion of movement, music, and light – had captivated more than 50,000 people since its premiere in 2004. In Borrowed Light, Tero Saarinen was inspired by the traditional songs and dances of the Shakers, a religious movement founded in the USA in the 18th century that was known for its strict, ascetic principles on how to live, its strong sense of community, and the quality of its craftsmanship. The central theme of the piece was not the Shaker movement itself, however, but universal issues like spirituality and community. Saarinen’s choreography, underscored by the powerful traditional songs of the Shakers, communicated a feeling of human communion and collective surrender.
In Borrowed Light, Saarinen collaborated closely with The Boston Camerata, one of the leading vocal ensembles for early music, and also with his creative partners of many years, lighting designer Mikki Kunttu and costume designer Erika Turunen. The piece employed light as a powerful religious metaphor and played with contrast: heavy felt material met airy, transparent fabrics, while the lighting design brilliantly evoked the alternation between mystical shadows and dazzling brightness.
