3 world premieres in 3 weeks
Early summer 2013 Jo Strømgren Kompani shows an activity that few institutional theaters or other major cultural institutions can match:
• 3 world premieres in 3 weeks
• 40 performances from now until summer vacation
• 33 performances only in June
• 6 different productions played in 13 cities in 8 different countries on two continents.
Kick-off for this hectic period will be this week at Bergen International Festival, where ORIGIN OF SPECIES premieres 23rd May. This brand new theatre production was created in collaboration with the Danish ensemble Mungo Park. Three male actors shed different lights on the theory of evolution, mixing factual and fictional angles with a dash of filmatic freedom. Every piece of classic literature has been dramatised in theatre, so why not this book as well? It challenged science and religion in 1859 and is still the source of major conflicts around the world today. It is perhaps more relevant than ever.
The company then move to Northern Norway and Stamsund International Theatre Festival and the world premiere of THE PAINTER 4th June.
Historical personalities come to life in the popular TV show RADICAL, and in tonight’s episode, we meet the contemporary artists Munch and Van Gogh, who are confronted with the present. This is after all the year when Munch was born 150 years ago and the Van Gogh Museum has existed 40 years. That means a lot of commercial importance. However, the artists refuse to conform to the rules of the game.
Van Gogh: “I often think: you can stick your sunflower-print, made-in-China ballpoint pen right up your ass.”
Munch: "Cheers Vincent. I like you. "
After the premiere in Stamsund the painters will go on to Svolvær, Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival and the Festival of North Norway. In December the show will be shown at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. The dolls will also appear at several events in conjunction with this year’s Munch anniversary, Munch 150
THE PAINTER is a co-production between The Strømgren Company, Ulrike Quade (NL), Nordland Visual Theatre and Oldenburgisches Staatstheater (DL).
15th June there will be another world premiere, this time in Poznan, Poland. CZTERDZIESCI (meaning forty in Polish) follows a woman, from her birth in 1973 to her birthday in 2013. The timespan of 40 years reflects a period of doubts, hopes, struggles, choices, and unforseen events, driven by herioc virtues – the lust for life and the will to survive. On her journey through a chaotic Europe, she manages to find a compromise between her own ambitions and the circumstances that are forced upon her. This blend of nostalgia, retrospective scrutiny, and a fearful gaze at the future, is the celebration of co-producer Polish Dance Theatre’s 40th anniversary. The production is part of a long-term partnership between the two companies, triggered by JSK continuous presence in Poland over the years. CZTERDZIESCI will perform at The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet as part of Coda International Dance Festival in late September, and will then also visit Stavanger Concert Hall.
“Life is like a book, they say. But life is not a book. Life is underwritten on Thousands of loose sheets. You can tell a story, yes, and say this story is the truth. But it’s a matter of choice, really. Of deciding wooden wooden papers in order. Our story is one of these. "
In addition to all these new productions A DANCE TRIBUTE TO THE ART OF FOOTBALL will go on a three-week South American tour in June / July. Eight performances at renowned venues in Peru, Chile and Uruguay will be conducted as part of a Nordic collaborative project with Granhøj Dance (DK) and Karttunen Rent (FI).
The performances A DANCE TRIBUTE TO PING PONG and THE BORDER will also perform in July, respectively in Svetvincenat, Croatia and in St. Petersburg, Russia.
See our full performance schedule here.
Besides that, we can mention that a total of 19 different productions signed Jo Strømgren will be played in 2013 in at least 85 different locations in 16 different countries. See Jo’s calendar here.