Hva skjedde femte mai* (What Happened the Fifth of May)

Hva skjedde femte mai? (What Happened the Fifth of May?) (2007) by Liv Heløe was developed in a workshop process with actors and director Jon Tombre. Hva skjedde femte mai? (What Happened the Fifth of May?) had its world wide premiere in The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) 2007.

"Yesterday a 29 year old Kurdish woman died on a subway station in Oslo. The circumstances regarding her death are unclear, but what is clear is that several young people were present at the time of the accident. The youth are presumed to be of Norwegian and foreign origin."

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

Information

(Objekt ID 787)
Object type Production
Premiere 2007
Produced by Pharos Productions
Based on Hva skjedde femte mai?* (What Happened the Fifth of May?) by Liv Heløe
Audience Youth, Adults (from 15)
Language Norwegian
Keywords Theatre, Dance, Performance for youth
Running period 2007  
Website Twist festival 08

Requirements to venue

Minimum stage width 10m
Minimum stage depth 10m
Blackout Yes
Rigging time 120 minutes
Downrigging time 60 minutes
More

In Hva skjedde femte mai?* (What Happened the Fifth of May?) by Liv Heløe five young persons are summoned for questioning. They are in a closed room with the questioner and the audience. Racist attitudes, strained relationships between siblings and former romantic relationships are pushed towards the light.

The audience got insight in the persons’ dreams, longings and fears in the individual stories behind the death on the subway. Monologues, dance sequences and sound compositions created several layers of reality in a tightened production about prejudice and coincidence. No one could leave before the mystery of the Fifth of May had been solved.

Through the media we are presented for tabloid and general presumptions about conflicts about honour, for instance. These contribute to increase the friction between the morals of the majority and minorities, building up under the established myths about the unknown. With the theatre project Hva skjedde femte mai? the simplifications we often meet in the media were challenged, and the audience was invited to take part in some of the many individual stories behind the headlines. Tombre lifted the production into a poetic landscape in which the newly composed music by composer Andreas Lyngstad played an important part.

Hva skjedde femte mai? was supported by Arts Council Norway, The Fund for Performing Artists and the freedom of expression foundation Fritt ord.

Hva skjedde femte mai? was performed during the festival Twist 08, in collaboration between Det Åpne Teater (The Open Theatre), The Norwegian Touring Theatre and Nordic Black Theatre.

Source:

Twist festival 08, twist08.no, 11.10.2010, http://twist08.no/pub/twist/detapneteater/?aid=67#twist

Contributors (20)
Name Role
Liv Heløe – Playwright
Tiril Pharo – Idea
Jon Tombre – Direction
Andreas Damm Lyngstad – Music
Andreas Damm Lyngstad – Sound
David Reza Adampour – Actor
Sara Baban – Actor
Buzhan Baban – Actor
Ane Sydnes Egeland – Actor
Line Heie Hallem – Actor
Ayaz Hussain – Actor
Tiril Pharo – Actor
Naziha Searle-Lien (from Navember 5, 2008 to Navember 5, 2008) – Actor
Anita Uberoi (from May 5, 2008 to May 9, 2008) – Actor
Lasse Valdal – Actor
Fabien Greenberg – Photo
Andreas Damm Lyngstad – Technician
Tiril Pharo – Producer
Ingvild Søderlind – Coordinator
Tove Ilsaas – Pedagog
Festivals (1)
Twist 08 Navember 5, 2008
Press coverage

Elisabeth Rygg, 24.11.2008, Review titled Ungt og urbant om fordommer (literally: Young and urban about prejudice), Aftenposten.no, 11.10.2010, http://oslopuls.aftenposten.no/?service=redirect&sourceid=2117792 [Oslo]:
"Daring and thought-provoking theatre."

Elisabeth Leinslie, DAgsavisen [Oslo]:
"Hva skjedde femte mai? is a brave production daring to discuss the multicultural youth culture of Norway."

Lillian Bikset (2007, November 25). Review titled Cultural conflict to believe in, Dagbladet [Oslo]:
"If one instead accepts the questioning as metaphorical or as memory images, an imagined questioning about attitudes, the perspectives, conflicts and alliances are credible. Here are fine observations of daily life dilemmas and social minefields."