Serie: 2019
Nordic Café: Kristofer Blindheim Grønskag (Norway) and Scandinavian American Theater Company “Kinder K (Play-reading)”
A mercy killing? Who gets to decide?
In 1939, a German couple spurns their irreparably impaired baby and asks the Nazi government to euthanise the infant. Fast forward to recent times when prenatal screening means the parents’ dilemma is whether such a youngster should even be born. Different eras, similar plight. Who and what can really determine when another’s life is worth living?
Staged in Oslo, Copenhagen, London and New York, Kinder K’s Asian debut is presented in the form of play-reading, shedding light on the text itself to bring home the moral ambiguity of this social development.
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent the stand of the Council.
Nordic Café: Theatre du Pif – Ibsen’s Ghosts: A play-reading and interactive commentary event
I almost think we are all of us ghosts
It is not only what we have inherited from our parents that “walks” within us. Dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs also haunt our thinking.
Ghosts is considered as one of Ibsen’s most controversial works with its numerous attacks on 19th-century morality. Today we are still dealing with all these issues – as individuals and as a society.
Mrs Alving is desperately trying to maintain her husband’s reputation despite his personal flaws. She even builds an orphanage dedicated to the late and great Captain Alving. However, as secrets from the past gradually come to light and the truth cannot be unseen, a tragedy unfolds.
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent the stand of the Council.
Autumn Sonata
Ingmar Bergman’s award-winning film is enthrallingly transferred to the operatic realm, adding an intense musical angst to the raw truths bared in this tale of a concert pianist’s inharmonious relationship with her daughters. Composer Sebastian Fagerlund, winner of Finland’s renowned Teosto Prize, provides an impassioned score for both orchestra and vocal stars, at the same time weaving the chorus compellingly into the drama to supercharge the brutal emotional exchanges. Intriguing staging, featuring flashbacks, parallel moments, open expanses, and even spectral presences, brings further layers of meaning along with a surreal edge, playing with time and space to add universal significance to the domestic setting. First performed at Finnish National Opera in 2017 and receiving international acclaim, Autumn Sonata’s Asian debut is not to be missed!
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent the stand of the Council.
“Limits” by Cirkus Cirkör [Sweden] (Student Matinee)
Tigers jumping through flaming hoops, bears walking on hind legs… Traditional circus, as we know it, tries to entertain and amuse by stimulating our senses. Cirkus Cirkör – the latter a play on the French words “cirque” (circus) and “coeur” (heart) – sets out to innovate with a big heart, as seen in their multimedia circus production Limits for this year’s World Cultures Festival – The Nordics.
Today as the European countries are quickly closing their borders to curb the influx of refugees, Cirkus Cirkör perceives their native Sweden and even the USA as an acrobat’s body, which could become more flexible through vigorous training. Be sure not to miss Limits, a creative discourse on the body politic and humanitarian work from a fresh and little-known angle.
The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent the stand of the Council.