Happy summer!

For a couple of weeks rehearsal studios, touring vehicles and office seats will be replaced by refreshing swims, mountain walks and generous portions of ice cream. The JSK office will be closed in July, but in August we will be back preparing for a busy autumn, including production of our brand new performance The Virus and pre-production for our dance film Closed and puppet theatre Coco. In addition we will be touring dance extravaganza Czterdziesci, children’s show The Kitchen and old-time success A Dance Tribute to the Art of Football.
Enjoy your summer and remember sun screen!

THE VIRUS – premiere October 2016

Do you remember the satisfaction of fixing things? The lovely weight of a screwdriver in your palm? The self-assured smile when skimming a user manual? Well…those days are gone.

The Virus starts with the notion of an external threat, sealed off by thick walls and airtight hatches. The first hint of something not being quite right is the sudden malfunction of a simple artifact of daily life. Perhaps due to natural causes. Or maybe not. After an increasing number of strange incidents, it’s clear that the whole perimeter is contaminated by a viral infection. But mutations occur quicker than the analytical scrutiny of the inhabitants, leading to a race for survival as symptoms alter with each outbreak.

The Virus is, after several years of exploring different formats and genres, a sought-after return to the essence of Jo Strømgren Kompani, to a mix of theatre and dance and nonsensical language. Humanistic, absurdist, and true to a storytelling tradition with unexpected twists around each corner. The Virus features 4 performers in a confined space with limited amount of props, testing our theatre making competence to the maximum as well as challenging the audience’s capacity to imagine and associate. It is a coproduction with The Norwegian Opera & Ballet and Bærum Kulturhus, Regionalt kompetansesenter for dans and will premiere in October 2016.

COCO – premiere April 2017.

As reality is tangering theatre, illusion seems to become the new truth. Perhaps this is where puppets can help us. After all they are the masters of illusion.

Few people in the fashion business have been as prolific and influential as Coco Chanel. But in one aspect, she may have been more ahead of her time than expected. Her staging of her own person and life story is no longer considered cynical nor questionable – today her career building strategies are almost basic knowledge for anyone who wants to climb ladders, be it in business or social life.

Ulrike Quade and Jo Strømgren are fascinated by the complex history of Coco Chanel. As a master of illusion Chanel consistently chose to mythologize herself. She controlled the way the world looked at her, while at the same time her fashion has become a symbol for emancipation. The performance Coco seeks to investigate the influence fashion has on our society. How a costume becomes a body and how a body becomes a puppet.

Coco is the third collaboration between Jo Strømgren Kompani and Ulrike Quade Company. It will premiere in April 2017.

Both productions are available for booking now! Contact managing director Sunniva Steine at sunniva@jskompani.no for more details.