THE BASEMENT
The performance
In a basement, we find four women, three dead and one alive. From the floor above, we hear the muffled voices of a men’s party. It’s sad. Until an arm twitches.
The Basement is on one level a delirious tribute to the millions of women throughout history doomed to a fate of early death and oblivion, guilty of nothing else than being women. On another level, it’s a confusing fable about reincarnation. If we wake up as someone else, are we able to fully represent that person or do we just find ourselves bewildered by weird costumes? While the men’s party continues above, the four women search for logic in their new reality. Or multiple realities.
The Basement is an independent sequel to The Loft (2022) which treated the theme of love between women. This time it’s about love for women who are long dead and forgotten to the world. The certainty of their sufferings, however, has given them eternal life. Maybe they also can remind us how patriarchal the world still is.
Duration: 60 min
Premiere: 23rd of May 2024 – The Norwegian Opera and Ballet
Media
Previously touring
NorwayCredits
Choreography, set design,: Jo Strømgren
Dancers: Henriette Hamli, Nora Svendgaard, Anna Benedicte Andresen, Malika Berney
Composer & original music: Bergmund Waal Skaslien
Lighting design: Jan Harald Ovrum, Jo Strømgren
Costume design: Bregje van Balen
Photo: Jubal Battisti
Production: Jo Strømgren Kompani
Collaboration: The Norwegian Opera and Ballet