The Table
The production The Table by Teater NOR was an expression for the modern human’s search for meaning and magic. The faith in love and the power of love may be the only world-wide mythology of our age, and it lives on. In a world where God is dead, humans have betrayed themselves and every kind of wholeness and meaning has been blown to pieces, we need to create our own miracles.
Information
(Objekt ID 1344)| Object type | Production |
| Produced by | Teater NOR |
| Audience | Youth, Adults |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Keywords | Theatre |
| Website | Teater NOR |
Requirements to venue
| Minimum stage width | 16m |
| Minimum stage depth | 12m |
| Minimum stage height | 8m |
| Blackout | Yes |
About The Table by Teater NOR: Teater NOR sent the 80 year old German photographer Michael Bry from Mourtosa in Portugal to Stamsund in Lofoten by train. The journey took three weeks and with a telephoto lens he secretly photographed expressions of love and being in love along the way. Michael Bry’s physical journey and his experienced eye gave the company both a poetic distance and a thematic limitation for its work. At the same time the artists perceived the journey as a metaphor as important, thematic and as means of expression.
The photographies by Michael Bry, plus the artists’ own experiences with love, became the inspiration for The Table. The images were integrated in the artistic expression and were in addition exhibited separately in dialogue with the production.
To begin with Teater NOR found it easier to work with disillusion, perversion, bitterness and disappointment, rather than hope and joy of life. The vulnerable, naïve expectation we all carry around, no matter how old we become, is hard to express without using the clichés and images already over-exposed in our media daily life. Teater NOR needed distance, a fresh outlook and purer hearts to complete the project. This made the whole company travel to Africa by bus.
The Table was produced by Teater NOR in Essaouira in Morocco in collaboration with Association Essaouira Mogador. This African area is the core area for the Gnawa cult. Gnawa is a religious musical ritual with an all-night duration, putting musicians and audience in trance. Seven spirits are awaken to life and during the ritual they heal all known illnesses, including mourning the loss of love. Teater NOR needed this shamanist inspiration to be able to battle with the creative and revolutionary potential of love.
The visual framework is a five meter tall rig made by eucalyptus tree. Underneath it stands a large table with a white tablecloth. Aided by laser beams, wind machines, three video projectors, electric winches and large mirror glass plates the table dematerialise. From the well-known civilised made table only fragments are left. The space transforms its form, mood and meaning and the humans in it change character.
The music goes through all of the performance, binding the poetic tableaus together as an active part of the action. Violin, bass, drums, accordion and claquetes in steel are played.
The Table was produced in 2005 in Morocco and in Seville in Spain. The production was also performed in St. Petersburg in Russia.
Source: E-mail from Thorbjørn Gabrielsen, 10.11.2010
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Thorbjørn Gabrielsen | – Text |
| Thorbjørn Gabrielsen | – Direction |
| Øystein Helle | – Stage design |
| Morten Laane | – Stage design |
| Thorbjørn Gabrielsen | – Video/Film |
| Øystein Helle | – Lighting design |
| Andreas Eilertsen | – Actor |
| Cristina Granados | – Actor |
| Sissel Helgesen | – Actor |
| Øystein Reksten Sanne | – Actor |
| Elisabeth Vikeså | – Actor |
| Andreas Eilertsen | – Musician |
| Michael Bry | – Photo |
| Oddny Wiggen | – Producer |
| May 31, 2005 – Vaglebruket, Teater NOR (Stamsund Teaterfestival) | Show |
| Stamsund Teaterfestival | May 31, 2005 |