The failed pianist is a solo by Manuel Pessoa de Lima, with speech, red light bulbs, piano (or keyboard), video and electronics, exploring humour around the situation of displacement and failure. Developed from Lima’s personal dilemmas, the work creates a contrast in an ambient of seriousness, where his figure as a pianist comes off a bit displaced, highlighting these invisible frames surrounding notions of 'experimental' or 'contemporary', with an almost prosaic concern for making a living.