Coco Chanel

At the webpage of The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet the following, among other things, is written in the Norwegian-language text about Coco Chanel**:

"Ulrike Quade and Jo Strømgren are fascinated by the complex history of Coco Chanel. As a master of illusion Chanel consistently chose to mythologise herself. She controlled the way the world looked at her, while at the same time her fashion has become a symbol for emancipation.

The performance Coco Chanel seeks to investigate the influence fashion has on our society. How a costume becomes a body and how a body becomes a puppet.

Coco Chanel is the third collaboration between Ulrike Quade Company and Jo Strømgren Kompani and a sought-after continuation of the distinctive style these two companies have created together, featuring hyper-realistic puppets, portrayal of historical people, intriguing walks between documentary facts and provocative insinuations, and a great dash of wild imaginative theatre."

At the webpage of The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet the following, among other things, is written in the English-language text about Coco Chanel**:

"Coco Chanel was an icon of gracefulness. With her bold designs, she liberated woman from the corset. Her eventful life tells us the story of a woman, whom while being an orphan rose to the French upper class. For modern women today her name is a symbol for equality and freedom. Every time period has its diseases, but are we ourselves able to pin-point a diagnosis for our own era? And if so, can we use Coco Chanel for this purpose, without making her a hostage for an opinion or a conclusion? Art is free, but we still have a responsibility towards historical facts. Nevertheless, one should be free to wonder and imagine the innermost thoughts of individuals that have defined who we are as citizens of the modern world. And especially when the individual of scrutiny was quite the theatre director herself."

SOURCES:

The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, 13.09.17, http://operaen.no/Forestillinger/jo-stromgren-kompani-coco-chanel/#sectionTrailer

The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, 13.09.17, http://operaen.no/en/Performances/jo-stromgren-kompani-coco-chanel/

**The webpage shows a more expansive text in English than in Norwegian. Minor spelling and grammar mistakes in the English-language text have been corrected by Sceneweb.