The best to fring award 2026 Amsterdam Fringe Festival ​

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"The jury celebrates The machine sleeps tonight as a wonderfully strange, imaginative and deeply original performance that pushed the boundaries of what theatre can be. Amos Peled draws you into a world where medical devices become mischievous companions—robots that come to life, rebel, play, and reveal unexpected tenderness. The transformation of these obscure machines into theatrical characters felt inventive.  

They also admired the performer’s craft: the clowning was sharp, the object manipulation precise, and the pacing consistently surprising.

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The piece is wonderfully weird, deeply personal, and theatrically bold. The jury sees real potential for this performance to travel, evolve, and reach new audiences. As it stands, The machine sleeps tonight is a smart, funny, rebellious and unforgettable gem of Fringe theatre. "

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For now, there is no one in the room; no doctor or patient. Only an anesthesia machine, breathing deeply, releasing air from its mechanical lungs, and breathing at a steady, gentle pace. A large shadow is cast over the room—an inflated balloon dog, breathing in sync with the ventilator, its single black eye winking at its rescuer.

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The Machine Sleeps Tonight is the next chapter in my exploration of the creative use and appropriation of medical technology. This project repurposes an anesthetic machine as an instrument in a live performance, pushing its potential beyond its clinical function. It aims to explore the emotional and social dimensions often overlooked in the application of medical technology, particularly in light of our increasing reliance on technological systems.

 

 

 

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