Atopisk – in the wrong place

Atopic means "in the wrong place". The production Atopisk – in the wrong place by Temte Productions is based in a true story. Rune Temte, who wrote the text, has lived with atopic eczema for more than 15 years, both as an active athlete and a professional actor. The production also illuminates universal issues such as; what kind of relationship do we have to the body, as an object, today? How do we transform, change and "destroy" the body to recreate it, due to new ideals and trends?

The production Atopisk is about a person who has atopic eczema and the distress this causes, in particular in today’s society, with increasing demands to the body. The company wishes to emphasise the ordeal of having the kind of skin that makes you stand out. What happens to a person who always knows he is wearing a "mask" stopping him from communicate who he really is? The person in the production feels as if he is in the wrong place and despairingly he tries to reach the people surrounding him. The eczema never leaves his thoughts, everything is about easing the physical and psychological ordeal.

One actor and three mobile television screens make the stage image in an otherwise bare room with a standing light. The audience is placed onstage and the acting takes place around them. The actor tells his personal story without theatrical effects, only helped by his memory and physical presence.

Temte Productions doesn’t tell the story in a traditional manner, assisted just by text, but also takes use of sound, movement and TV images. The skin is central and different objects contribute to underlining it. For instance close-ups of skin with atopic eczema are presented on the TVs.

Source: Temte Productions, http:/temte.no, 08.11.2010

The production’s official English title is spelled with the Norwegian spelling of atopic, atopisk.