The Shape of Things

At the webpage of Kilden Theatre the following, among other things, is written about The Shape of Things:

"What is art? Is there any form of moral responsibility in a work of art? Can one, through art, push the limits for public debate about established power structures without breaking ethical norms? What is the artist's role in society? Can an artist do whatever in the name of art? These are among the questions posed by playwright Neil LaBute in his play The Shape of Things.

Adam works part-time as a guard at an art museum, besides his literature studies at university. He leads a quiet and perhaps a little boring life, until the more-than-average funky art student Evelyn sails into the museum- with a spray box of graffiti paint. Evelyn wants to tag a statue to protest artistic censorship. At the same time, Adam gets her phone number tagged on his uniform, and things turn out the way they must turn out: Opposites attract. Soon, Adam and Evelyn will both be testing the boundaries for how far one can go in the name of love and the name of art.

Too much information would ruin the piece. But literary hints are spread underway, with references to Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, Franz Kafka's short story Metamorphosis and George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion. The same way Shaw's character professor Henry Higgins tries to transform a flower girl into a duchess, LaBute transforms Evelyn from a shy clodhopper to a sex object. The same way Shaw interweaves moral issues into the whole of Pygmalion, LaBute lays the foundation for an exciting debate about arts and aesthetics, right and wrong. The fascinating landscape gives space to the relationship between art and morals, the search for the superficial in and outside of social media - and the thin line between pure provocation and need for attention.

The Shape of Things is a modern Dorian Gray story strongly inspired by Oscar Wilde's novel. The play was written by American Neil LaBute, an award-winning moviemaker and script writer. The Shape of Things was written for Almeida Theatre in London in 2001, and it has later been produced several times in London and New York. The play has also been adapted into the movie The Shape of Things, directed by LaBute himself. Kilden Theatre's version is directed by Gianluca Iumiento and performed by Kilden's own theatre ensemble: Johannes Blåsternes, Ina Maria Brekke, Steffen Mulder and Ann Ingrid Fuglestveit-Mortensen.

We would like to inform that stage smoke effects, strobe lighting and loud sounds are used in the performance. There is also limited seating in the auditorium."

SOURCE:

Kilden Theatre, www.kilden.com, 17.10.18, https://www.kilden.com/forestilling/tingenes-tilstand/