Labyrint* (Labyrinth)

Labyrint* (Labyrinth) (2016) is a theatre production by Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre). Labyrint is an immersive theatre experience with significant use of virtual reality. The text has been written by Hilde Brinchmann. The opening is to take place at Arbeideren, Aalesund.

Hilde Brinchmann also directs the production. In addition she plays the leading character, Professor Brix, and she is responsible for the stage design.

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

Information

(Objekt ID 53991)
Object type Production
Premiere May 21, 2016
Produced by Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre), Barneteatret Vårt
Audience Youth (from 13)
Audience size 414
Number of events 15
Language Norwegian
Keywords Theatre, Installation, Performance for youth
Running period May 21, 2016  
Website Teatret Vårt
More

At the website of Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre) the following, among other things, is written aboutLabyrint* (Labyrinth):

"This is the story of the magical labyrinth. The labyrinth that has surfaced in different places at different times throughout the complete history of humanity. The labyrinth that hides great secrets, the labyrinth in which many people have disappeared.

When she disappeared, Professor Elizabeth Brix only had one more visit to go, inside of the labyrinth. With her newest innovation, an apparatus that can see what the labyrinth tries to hide, she was very close to solving the mystery of the magical labyrinth. To try to figure out what has happened to the professor, her assistants send brave, young people into the labyrinth.

(...)

Virtual Reality (VR) meets theatre in this innovative project. Labyrint is an artistic experiment in which the Hedda rewarded director Hilde Brinchmann and game designer Johann Prell from the VR company Vobling examine how to use VR in theatre for youth. The result will be a stage design theatre experience similar to a computer game. The audience are let into the labyrinth one by one, and during their journey they find the professor's apparatuses; VR glasses revealing things that do not exist in reality.

(...)

The spectators buy tickets for the wanted time. Every half an hour a group of five persons will be let in. After that the audience is sent along, one by one into the labyrinth. The total duration for each spectator is approximately 30 minutes."

The production of Labyrint is part of the international collaboration project Platform Shift +. During a period of four years, ten European theatres and theatre companies are to examine technology and digital media in performances for youth aged 14 years or more.

Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre) recommends a lower age limit of 13 years for Labyrint.

SOURCES:

Import from the Scenekunst.no list of openings 29.03.2016

Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre), teatretvart.no, 29.03.2016, http://www.teatretvart.no/forestillinger/labyrint

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.

Contributors (7)
Name Role
Hilde Brinchmann – Playwright
Hilde Brinchmann – Direction
Johann Prell – Composition
Hilde Brinchmann – Stage design
Johann Prell – Stage design (Vital Reality designer)
Jonas P. A. Fuglseth – Lighting design
Hilde Brinchmann – Actor (Professor Brix)
Performance dates
May 21, 2016 15:00 – Arbeideren, Ålesund Worldwide premiere
Press coverage

Lillian Bikset, I Labyrint på Teatret Vårt får tilskueren rollen som oppdager (literally: In Labyrint* (Labyrinth) at Teatret Vårt (Our Theatre) the spectator is given the role of the discoverer), Dagbladet May 29 2016:

"Which doors open? Which mysteries are solved? Which mysteries stay mysterious? This shall not be revealed here. That would reduce the entertainment of those to enter. Instead we can put it like this, that even though Labyrint uses new technology, the attraction from good old mysteries is what lies beneath. (...) It is part of the immersive theatre's character, that one can't be sure that what one experiences is the same that others experience. For one thing, the theatre form encourages subjective imagination, in that one has to fill out the empty spaces of the story on one's own. Many rooms are empty of people. The objects and symbols one may find function as indications of what may have happened or will happen. For another, there is a near unavoidable wonder, if one has actually experienced everything, or if there is anything that has been overlooked, passed by."

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.