Sigríður Soffía Níelsdóttir

Æfingar á H, an incident hófust í síðustu viku í Þjóðleikhúsinu. Verkið verður skapað á íslandi og í Brussel þar sem frumsýnt verður í Kaaitheater á Kunstenfestival um miðjan Maí. H, an incident er ný sýning eftir Kris Verdonck, sem er þekktur leikhúslistamaður og myndlistarmaður frá Belgíu. Sýningin byggir á samspili tónlistar og dans, leikhúss og innsetningar, sviðslistamanna og véla. H-ið í titlinum vísar til rússneska rithöfundarins, stærðfræðingsins, heimspekingsins og dulspekingsins Daniil Harms (1905-1942). Í höfundarverki sínu, sem samanstendur af örsögum, ljóðum og leikþáttum, sýnir Harms okkur inn í heillandi, fjarstæðukenndan og óútskýranlegan heim. Ímyndunarafl hans var einstaklega frjótt og þrátt fyrir ritskoðun Stalínstímans, fasísk grimmdarverk, hungur, kulda og þjáningar hélt hugur hans stöðugt áfram að leita að “kjarna hlutanna”. Meiri upplýsingar má finna á http://www.kaaitheater.be/en/e1084/h-an-incident/

Just started working with director Kris Verdonck for the performance H, an incident.
The ‘H’ in H, an incident refers to the world, life and work of the twentieth-century Russian writer Daniil Harms (or Charms) (1905-1942). Harms was the author of a remarkable body of work of which hardly anything was published during his lifetime, except for the children’s books he wrote for his livelihood. It was only after Perestroika that his work finally surfaced in full. It consists mainly of very short, utterly absurd stories in which Harms always tries to dig down to the bedrock. His humour and violence remind us of Monty Python, while the absurd realism he portrays is often reminiscent of the madness we experience in our daily lives. Harms loved mathematics and the Kabbalah, was a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and was looking for the essence of things, for the truth that might be discovered in any one detail: a small incident could suddenly reveal the true nature of things. The Stalinists regarded Harms’ highly non-conformist behaviour as dangerous and subversive. He was imprisoned several times and died of starvation in a psychiatric institution, just one of thousands of residents of Leningrad who did not survive the three-year long blockade of their city by the Nazis.

H, an incident is the first musical-theatre production by theatre-maker and artist Kris Verdonck. The music includes Russian children’s songs arranged by the composer Jonas Sen in collaboration with Vladimir Jóhansson. The choir consists of six Icelandic girls led by the singer and dancer Erna Omarsdottir. These female creatures can assume all kinds of guises, from girl to old woman. The actor Jan Steen is ‘the man on the roof’, the incarnation of Harms, the author, the man who looks and describes, who wonders and philosophises.

Several musical instruments move among the abstract props and living beings. Brought to life by those famous organ builders the Decap brothers, ‘drums and trumpets’ walk about freely in Harms’ absurd world, in which objects and furniture, cats and people communicate. ‘Art,’ Harms said, ‘is a cupboard.’

‘L’absurde, c’est la raison lucide qui constate ses limites.’ – Albert Camus

More information on the production at http://www.kaaitheater.be/en/e1084/h-an-incident/

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Tags: contemporary dance, Kunstenfestival des arts, Sigga Soffía, theater in iceland