ON-GOING
Nuckan - the epilogue
Performed at Atalante on March 1-3, 2019
Somewhere on our way from girlhood to middleaged women we were taught that it is extemely dangerous to talk about ourselves as women not desired by men. No matter what happened to us in life we weren’t ever allowed to describe ourselves in this way. Not even to ourselves, in solitude.
Malin Lindroths essay Nuckan wants to break this woe of silence, reclaim the position of the involuntary spinster and reinvent her as a cultural critic and a much needed voice in contemporary society.
The essay, published in the spring of 2018, has sparked debate and strong reactions. In Nuckan – the epilogue the writer herself appears on stage, revisiting the book in the light of its reception. This staged reading takes place in a borderland between spoken word, performance lecture and installation.
A first sketch of this staging was made as a performed reading on Scener & samtal in connection with the Gothenburg Book Fair on September 29, 2018.
On stage: Malin Lindroth & Anna Gustavsson
Director: Cecilia Lagerström
Sound composition: Anna Gustavsson
Moving image & set design: Karin Wegsjö
Props: Emma Sande och Matilda Sande
Texts: Malin Lindroth
Xenophobia
Premiere at Folkteatern on November 16, 2018
Three persons are called to a nameless zone where the terrain seems unsafe and full of traps. Alarm signals reappear. A misstep may lead to death. They have to keep their eyes open. They must look for strangers. Who can they really trust?
XENOPHOBIA poses questions about the fear in the society at a time when the world seems more uncertain and unstable than ever. Threat scenarios appear. Opinions of the stranger grow. Fear builds nests among us.
The performance is a poetic "Gesamtkunstverk" that not only examines and discusses the fear of contemporary society, but also stages and evokes this particular state of mind, through the performative experience. Physical theater merges with image projections, light, sound compositions and poetic texts that create a theatrical whole.To be performed at Folkteatern in Gothenburg
on November 16 and 17 at 18.30
directing CECILIA LAGERSTRÖM
with HELENA KÅGEMARK, ALOUN MARCHAL, MICHAEL NORLIND
guest performer CAMILLA EKELÖF
visual design JOHAN RÖDSTRÖM in collaboration with ANDREAS LÖFGREN
texts LINA EKDAHL
sound ANNA GUSTAVSSON
Det där man brukar kalla havet
Site-specific video installation
Det där man brukar kalla havet is a mobile video installation that raises questions about our fear of the stranger. Two young people are talking about an unknown object floating ashore. Is it a threat, an opportunity or something they must get rid of? They are accompanied by a silent ghostly choir of adults.The installation was screened for the first time on the yearly event Konstepidemin’s dag in Gothenburg on June 2 and then at the art hall Konsthallen Hamnmagasinet in Askersund July 24-29, 2018, and will appear in different places when you least expect it. By Cecilia Lagerström, Johan Rödström and Malin Lindroth. With Ellen Rödström, Milou Lagerström Bonde, Johan Svensson, Moa Myrén, Meira Ahmemulic and Georgios Giokotos.
Residencies and presentations
Development and sharing during 2017-18
In the autumn 2017, we began an exploration of working methods at two residences: at Scenstudion in Gerlesborg and at c.off in Stockholm.
We also conducted two work demonstrations and presentations at conferences in Gothenburg (the Artistic Research School) and Gent (International Platform for Perfomer Training, University of the Arts). Participating artists: Cecilia Lagerström, Michael Norlind and Mertcan Semerci.
Suffering
Performed at Atalante in 2017
In the spring 2017 we worked with the performance Suffering, which investigates suffering and the imagery of suffering in our time, and which was performed at Atalante in Gothenburg in May 2017. The project started off as reaction to the flow of images and descriptions of human suffering that has become an increasingly common part of the everyday media flow. Images with a strong angle largely taken at a distance and where the sufferer has no voice.
SUFFERING
Suffering is a performance that investigates suffering and the imagery of suffering in our time. In our era of diagnoses and medications, suffering is rarely regarded as a natural part of life. Yet, we suffer. Distress and vulnerability permeate our everyday lives, in both a local and a global perspective. Each individual suffering accomodates a larger narrative. At the same time images of human suffering are spread daily. Other people's distress has become commonplace in the globalized world. What happens to us when we look at other people's pain? How can we handle all these images without losing our compassion and humanity? And without consolidating polarized notions of "us and them"?
The project Suffering explores and embodies suffering and the imagery of suffering, with playfulness and gravity, using movement, words and images. The project surveys, diagnoses and haunts the individual, as well as the organised body of the society, and it scrutinizes boundaries, responsibilities and distance.
The project is conducted by Alkemisterna in collaboration with Studio Matejka (The Grotowski Institute) in Poland, and Scenkonst Gerlesborg.
Cast
Director: Cecilia Lagerström
Performers: Helena Kågemark, Mertcan Semerci and Michael Norlind
Visual designer: Johan Rödström
Author: Malin Lindroth
About us
Alkemisterna (The Alchemists) is an association of performing artists who work with performances, projects, readings, performance acts, installations, film and text production. The works that are created are often physical, visual and conceptual. An explorative process is always at the heart of our projects. We believe in art as a critical and poetic voice, as a participating force in our contemporary time.
Alchemy focuses on everything's potential for development and transformation, and strives tirelessly for transforming various matter into gold.
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