DYING TO BE ALIVE
BIT Oktoberdans, Bergen 16. – 17. October 2015
Created and performed by Kjartan Andersen, Susanne Irene Fjørtoft, Bjørnar Nilsen and Naja Lee Jensen. Light design by Thomas Bruvik. Co-produced by BIT-Teatergarasjen and funded by Norwegian Arts Council, FFLOB the Audio and Visual Fund and the Municipality of Bergen. Photos by Lena Therese Lie.
Is humanity larger than nature? Or put differently: are we able to be more than our own nature? What occurs when a human being decides it does not want to die? Is it even possible? Nature is cyclical and without consciousness, yet we experience linear existence: we're born, live a certain amount of time, and we die. Despite our body fixation, medical surgeries, virtual realities, and constant search for new ways of approaching the idea of immortality, the relentless cycle of nature cannot be broken. Our cells are gradually decomposing, ashes to ashes, dust to dust – and in the background lurks bacteria, not least the resistant bacteria. With Dying to be alive Happy Gorilla Dance Company takes a closer look at Homo Sapiens; a group of hopeful creatures fighting for their lives.
DYING TO BE ALIVE is a dark, intimate and visual performance happening mainly inside the restricted borders of a framed box, on and around a table. Three of the performers never leave the box, and never make a sound during the piece. The last character seems to exist in a different reality in between the audience and the box and his singing is the only human voice experienced live. Their actions are few and the images changes one action at the time leaving a lot of space for interpretation by the viewers. A text read by a machine sounding strangely human at times share thoughts about death and eternal life with a changing backdrop of heartbeats, a chanting voice and a subtle repetitive mechanism at work.
Is humanity larger than nature? Or put differently: are we able to be more than our own nature? What occurs when a human being decides it does not want to die? Is it even possible? Nature is cyclical and without consciousness, yet we experience linear existence: we're born, live a certain amount of time, and we die. Despite our body fixation, medical surgeries, virtual realities, and constant search for new ways of approaching the idea of immortality, the relentless cycle of nature cannot be broken. Our cells are gradually decomposing, ashes to ashes, dust to dust – and in the background lurks bacteria, not least the resistant bacteria. With Dying to be alive Happy Gorilla Dance Company takes a closer look at Homo Sapiens; a group of hopeful creatures fighting for their lives.
DYING TO BE ALIVE is a dark, intimate and visual performance happening mainly inside the restricted borders of a framed box, on and around a table. Three of the performers never leave the box, and never make a sound during the piece. The last character seems to exist in a different reality in between the audience and the box and his singing is the only human voice experienced live. Their actions are few and the images changes one action at the time leaving a lot of space for interpretation by the viewers. A text read by a machine sounding strangely human at times share thoughts about death and eternal life with a changing backdrop of heartbeats, a chanting voice and a subtle repetitive mechanism at work.
"A ritualistic performance without words about a deeply existential topic: death... Movements expressing breath and life about to leave him, becomes a choreography and a mind image." - Teater1, 24. February 2016
"Heavy, beautiful and strikingly simple"
- Scenekunst.no, Chris Erichsen, 22. October 2015
"A disturbing atmosphere, that talks to the body more than the mind."
- Klassekampen, 20. October 2015
