Night Shifts 4
with Rosanna Graf & Jonathan Penca
Participatory Performance
27 June 2026, 8:15 PM
Moorburg, Hamburg-Harburg
Registration required
Something croaks among the ferns in the dark. Moorburg is under threat. For decades, this small village in the north of Harburg has feared being swallowed by the expanding port. Squeezed between a refinery and a motorway, crisscrossed by massive power lines, this remaining patch of moorland continues to resist the construction of a motorway extension planned to cut directly through the landscape. Following protests by local residents and environmental activists, the project was temporarily halted, but planning continues, and the future of the moor remains uncertain.
For the fourth edition of Night Shifts, artists Rosanna Graf and Jonathan Penca turn their attention to this unique yet endangered landscape, which provides a habitat for strictly protected moor frogs and toads. In their performance Nature Found Them Guilty, inspired by new forms of ecological thought such as Dark Ecology (see Morton; Kingsnorth), they draw on the horror genre, which has long explored the limits of human perception in relation to more-than-human worlds.
During an evening walk through the moor, a video in the style of a B-horror movie will be created together with the audience. Inspired by the revenge-of-nature films of the 1970s, in which nature remembers, resists, and strikes back, the work adopts the genre’s exaggerated visual language and dramatic storytelling. Audience members are invited to become active participants in the film and take on roles from the script throughout the night walk.
As the sun sets over the moorland, two reporters attempt to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of several road construction workers. Their investigation leads them past bubbling waters and enigmatic scrap heaps to the site of the planned motorway extension, where peat-cutting labourers, shady bureaucrats, and rebellious bikers cross paths. Dark clouds gather overhead while, behind the amphibian fence, something begins to stir—something that is no longer content to merely watch.
Schedule
The evening begins on 27 June 2026 at 8:15 PM at Dammtor station. From there, a shuttle bus will take participants to the event location. Following the approximately two-hour walk and video shoot, everyone is invited to gather for drinks and snacks. The shuttle bus will return participants to Dammtor station at approximately 12:30 AM.
Registration
Registration is required for this event. Capacity is limited.
Please register by 18 June 2026 via email at: info@night-shifts.com
Important Notice
The performance is also a film shoot. Visitors become performers, extras, and members of the film crew. By participating, attendees agree in advance to being filmed and to the subsequent use of the recorded material. During the evening, some audience members may be invited to take part in scenes with speaking roles. Participation in these scenes is entirely voluntary; however, active engagement and a willingness to embrace the situation are strongly encouraged.
Information regarding accessibility and the code of conduct can be found on our website.
Website: www.night-shifts.com
Night Shifts 4 is supported by the Harburg District Office.
The Night Shifts programme is made possible with the kind support of the Elbkulturfonds of the Hamburg Authority for Culture and Media, the Hamburg Cultural Foundation, and the Claussen-Simon Foundation.
