The Arrival
The Arrival (1999) by Jo Strømgren Kompani: Three paralyzed parachutists descend into a desert landscape. Suffering from amnesia and urban confusion they try to create a logic in their new situation.
How did they get there? And why? And what about that Biblical bush appearing? The quest for a purpose gets even more complicated with the arrival of a woman. And later presumably a local Arab.
The Arrival was in 2001 restaged and co-produced by in Älvsborgsteaterns Dansekompani in Uddevalla with extensive touring in Sweden.
There are no plans for further performances.
Information
(Objekt ID 2069)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | Navember 2, 1999 |
| Produced by | Jo Strømgren Kompani, Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre) |
| Coproducers | Alvsborgsteatern |
| Audience | Adults |
| Language | Gibberish |
| Keywords | Dance, Contemporary dance, Theatre, Dance theatre |
| Running period | Navember 2, 1999 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Website | Jo Strømgren Kompani |
Requirements to venue
| Minimum stage width | 9m |
| Minimum stage depth | 12m |
| Blackout | Yes |
| Rigging time | 420 minutes |
In The Arrival by Jo Strømgren Kompani the desert was a complete nothingness where life in itself was absurd. A place for existential questions, a place for dissolution and damnation, and a place for observations upon civilisation. A classic metaphor in many art forms, so to speak.
The Arrival played with these metaphors, and also with the time period where the metaphor was particularly strong. The existentialists of the 1950es were both cool and hopelessly blindfolded in any attempt to give chaos a humanistic face.
The show did not enter into existential depth, but circled around contemporary confusion regardless of time or period. Cartoon-like logic and a visual density proved to take the company to yet another level of associative communication.
Touring: Norway, Sweden, Lithuania.
Supported by: the Arts Council Norway and the municipality of Bergen.
Source:
Jo Strømgren Kompani, jskompani.no, 08.08.2010, http://jskompani.no/productions/4
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Jo Strømgren | – Choreography |
| Jørgen Knudsen | – Music |
| Stephan Østensen | – Stage design |
| Ingvild Hovind | – Costume design |
| Kristine Rødland Barlow | – Costume design |
| Lars Årdal | – Sound design |
| Stephen Rolfe | – Lighting design |
| Aude Frientz | – Dancer |
| Niklas Gundersen | – Dancer |
| Erik Rulin | – Dancer |
| Jo Strømgren | – Dancer |
| Kyrre Texnæs | – Dancer |
| Knut Bry | – Photo |
| October 22, 2000 – Hovedscenen (The Main Stage), Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre) | New opening |
| April 16, 2000 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| April 15, 2000 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| April 14, 2000 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| April 13, 2000 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| April 12, 2000 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 7, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 6, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 5, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 4, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 3, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Show |
| Navember 2, 1999 – BIT Teatergarasjen, Norsk Dramatikk | Worldwide premiere |
Writer and date unknown, Dagbladet [Oslo, Norway]:
"It is full of fantastic fantasy, fascinating dynamics, rich in associations and originality."
Writer and date unknown, Adresseavisen [Trondheim, Norway]:
"The performance contains both the absurd and the bizarre, the sincere and the lyrical – one laughs, gets provoked and touched."