Brothers of The Northern Lights

Title: 'Brothers of The Northern Lights' - Baltic tales and legends

Creators: CHOREA Theatre form Lodz, Teatr Figur form Cracow (Poland)

Adaptation of legends and tales: Gintaras Grajauskas, Erik Söderblom

Polish texts: Zośka Papużanka

Concept and music: Tomasz Krzyżanowski

Concept and creation of shadow theatre: Teatr Figur form Cracow

Musical cast: Joanna Chmielecka, Aleksandra Endzelm, Tomasz Krzyżanowski, Justyna Sobieraj-Bednarek, Maciej Staniecki, Paulina Tralewska

Shadow theatre cast: Piotr Idziak, Agnieszka Polańska, Dagmara Żabska and team of Teatr Figur from Cracow

Photos: HaWa

 

Date: 26.08.2018 (Sunday)

Time: 12 am

Place: Room A_22 in Art_Inkubator in Fabryka Sztuki in Lodz, 3 Tymienieckiego Street

Tickets: 30 pln / 20 pln

Duration: 60 minutes (no intermissions)

Viewers' age: 5+

DESCRIPTION OF THE CONCERT:

Musical musical performance 'Brothers of The Northern Lights' is a magical and mysterious tale, based on the legends and fairytales of the Baltic Sea, sung in Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Polish. Voices, singing and simple instruments enliven and fill the entire space with gentle sounds. The unusual stories are presented by a shadow theatre. Tomasz Krzyżanowski from CHOREA Theatre is the originator of the project and composer of the music. He is accompanied by invited musicians and vocalists, connected with CHOREA Theatre and CHOREA Theatre Choir. The multicolor shadow images are created by actors from Teatr Figur from Cracow. The main means of expressing the shadow theatre are lights, shadows and dolls. Team of Teatr Figur experiments with various light sources, polarizing filters, colorful multiplication images, creating stunning shadow paintings for the music. 

'Brothers of The Northern Lights' will tell you amazing legends of extraordinary inhabitants of the sea waters, lost underwater castles, mysterious sea creatures, powerful gods and rulers of the sea lands, and even the tale of a magical mill...

INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS: 

CHOREA Theatre was founded in 2004 in Lublin, as a result of collaboration between two groups of performers. First group, 'The Ancient Orchestra', was developing musical and rhythmical work. Second group, 'Dances of the Labyrinth', was experimenting on movement and dance. Since 2004, before they found their residence in Lodz in 2007, they have been working in several locations. The company was first based in Naleczow, Srebrna Gora and Warsaw, they cooperated with Erthfall Dance Theatre in Cardiff (Wales). Since 2007 they established a permanent base in the city of Lodz, co-founding with Lodz Art Centre a cultural institution named Fabryka Sztuki (Art Factory) and they own an amazing industrial theatre spaces (for rehearsals, performances and workshops) situated in the 19th Century factories, named Art_Inkubator in Fabryka Sztuki in Lodz.
During 14 years of activity CHOREA Theatre fully developed its educational and artistic work. CHOREA artists organized many international workshop sessions, transnational artistic projects, several editions of their own International Theatre Festival Retroperspektywy and nationwide Theatre Festival Perspektywy, and created more than 40 theatre productions, performances, and concerts. In 2015 CHOREA artists recorded a musical album 'Lulabies' and published actors training handbook 'Actors phisical training. From individual to group actions'. CHOREA group collaborates with artists from all over the world: USA, Great Britain, Israel, Spain, India, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Syria, Japan, Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, Moldova, etc.
During last years CHOREA Theatre presented their performances, concerts and intensive workshop sessions all over the world. In 2009 CHOREA performed on International Meeting on Ancient Drama Festival in Delphi, (Greece). In 2010 we cooperated with Rosanna Gamson Worldwide Theatre in Los Angeles (USA). In 2011 we presented our work in Escena Contemporanea Festival in Madrid (Spain) and in Mayerhold Theatre Centre in Moscow (Russia). In 2012 we visited Stage Centre in Tel Aviv (Israel). In 2011, 2012 and 2013 we performed on Bharat Rang Mahotsav - the biggest international Theatre Festival in India. In 2014 and 2015 we showed our performances in Art Carnuntum Verein für Kunst Geschichte Theater Kultur Festival in Art Carnuntum (Austria). In 2015 we presented our work in Luxembourg (Luxembourg) and in Chisnau (Moldova). In 2015 and 2016 we performed in Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre (Georgia). In 2017 we performed in Berlin (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and in St.Petersburg (Russia).

Teatr Figur Kraków is a touring puppet and shadow theatre whose mission it is to create original spectacles and artistic events, to seeks new forms of expression and to find modernity in traditional puppet techniques.
The TFK gives its performances in Cracow, on host stages, at the most important puppet theatre festivals as well as in the smallest cultural centres and villages in Poland and abroad (including among others: Washington, Moscow, Bielsko-Biała, Okulice, Psary, Baghdad, Seoul, Podłęże). The team’s main field of interest is the shadow theatre, theatre pedagogy and social art. The theatre offers performances for children and adults. In its ten years of activity, TFK has introduced 15 new plays and has participated in many international theatre festivals, among others in: Taipei, Seoul, Leipzig, Washington, Moscow. The TFK regularly holds theatrical workshops, known as the Centre of Theatrical Education, addressed to children, young and adult people. Company has run the TFK Locally program since 2014, inviting the inhabitants of various housing estates to put on their shadow plays in apartment and staircase windows.

REVIEWS:

'It is a bit of a shame to admit, but I started crying. On the one hand I do not like, when the performance affects me, because I myself lose the image of distanced and raised to be critical theatrologist, on the other hand it is quite opposite - I always hope that the performance will arise sudden emotions in me, pull the string which I was not aware of, will move me into some unexpected universe of impressions.
The musical performance 'Brothers of the Northern Lights' of the CHOREA Theatre from Lodz and Teatr Figur from Cracow gives such an opportunity. Often in college, I was wondering what exactly “a high artistic level” means? 'Brothers of the Northern Lights' have brought me closer to answering this question. It is an exquisite, moving performance, revealing the scenes of the emergence of stage magic in front of the viewer in a way that does not kill it at all.
We can listen to legends performed in Polish, Estonian, Finnish, Lithuanian and Latvian, sung to music created by Tomasz Krzyżanowski, played on a dozen or so simple instruments. The shadowy characters that move in front of us are very realistic - when you look at the dolls animated by Teatr Figur - and at the same time completely elusive.
Launched to life, thanks to the appropriate play of light, they enter the most intimate spheres of the spectator's imagination and transfer them to spaces that cannot be determined. The stories unfolds in dark forests or sea waves and are happening in a theatrical here and now, and by the game of individual memories and imaginations of each of the small or big recipients, they gain their unique, very personal version.
Sitting in the auditorium, I had the feeling of sharing my experience with the rest of the audience, and at the same time it seemed to me that everyone was in a winning land set for him on the ground of his own individual sensitivity.
I like to have this belief that artists are doing things important to them, to see the focus and involvement, manifesting themselves even in a brilliant musical workshop, precision of movements, attention to detail. I was not alone in admiration - the premiere, which took place on June 2, 2018, at the Large Stage of Pinokio Theater in Łódź, met with a thunderous, warm applause, which resulted in the performance of one of the songs on the encore by the artists from the CHOREA Theatre.
It may sound too effusive, but if you only have the opportunity to see the 'Brothers of the Northern Lights', do not waste it! And then you can write about how it was out there, where you were stolen. "
(Buszujący.pl)

LINKS: