I smile, therefore I cry
bad people should be killed
I smile, therefore I cry – bad people should be killed was a documentary installation art performance in which the two artists Grith Ea Jensen and Sille Dons Heltoft investigated the theatricality of the individual and collective understanding of our own moral values. It was their graduation performance from the Norwegian Theatre Academy 2009.
"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot shoot, courage to shoot the people I can shoot, and the wisdom to know the difference".
Information
(Objekt ID 4475)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | May 28, 2009 |
| Produced by | The Norwegian Theatre Academy |
| Audience | Adults |
| Number of events | 6 |
| Language | English, Danish and Norwegian |
| Keywords | Dance theatre, Physical theatre, Performance, Post-dramatic theatre, Installation, Video, Documentary, Monologue, Student production |
| Running period | May 27, 2009 — June 14, 2009 |
| Website | Akademi for Scenekunst |
Requirements to venue
| Blackout | No |
I smile, therefore I cry with the subtitle bad people should be killed by Grith Ea Jensen and Sille Dons Heltoft discussed life, death and moral dilemmas.
If the universal in human rights and human freedom is indisputable, we are all good and we should all get to live. Still the divide between good and evil is unclear, and is drawn during the passage of time and history. The victor, whether in a war situation or an election, has sovereign power in the country and the set of good values is defined by it. At the same time the set of values is an expression of the community. Is the good person evil?
By turning right and wrong, truth and lie upside-down, the two artists sought to question the role of the individual in moral dilemmas. Through research trips documentary material was gathered and created. By setting these documents at play in a universe that challenged causal connections this documentary installation art performance investigated the staging and theatricality of moral values.
The distance from our actions to their consequence is determinant for the feeling of moral responsibility. Who is good and who is bad? Should we all be killed?
"I believe in Democracy, I believe in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, our law. I believe in the law-abiding society, the equality in dignity and rights of all human beings, The Geneva Convention, the international human rights law, and the everlasting International Court of Justice in Haag".
I smile, therefore I cry – bad people should be killed by Grith Ea Jensen and Sille Dons Heltoft was produced as a graduation performance in The Norwegian Theatre Academy in 2009.
The sequel Womoon subtitled fra bunad til burka (literally: from bunad to burqa) has its premiere planned for February 2012.
Sources:
PIT, www.pit.no, 29.07.2010, http://www.pit.no/show_details.asp?ID=703
Program I smile, therefore I cry – Bad people should be killed
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Sille Dons Heltoft | – Co-creator |
| Grith Ea Jensen | – Co-creator |
| Sille Dons Heltoft | – Project manager |
| Grith Ea Jensen | – Project manager |
| Kate Pendry | – Consultant |
| June 14, 2009 – Friteatret, Grenland Friteater | Show |
| May 30, 2009 – Blue room, The Norwegian Theatre Academy | Show |
| May 30, 2009 – Blue room, The Norwegian Theatre Academy | Show |
| May 28, 2009 – Blue room, The Norwegian Theatre Academy | Worldwide premiere |
| May 28, 2009 – Blue room, The Norwegian Theatre Academy | Show |
| May 27, 2009 – Blue room, The Norwegian Theatre Academy | Preview |