Spectacle

Own production: Kanon Produksjon
Co-production: Kilden Kultur
Duration: 90 minutes
Premiere: 7th of june, 2024

Three very different characters must work together to save their workplace. An established and renowned director has been brought in to save the future of the local theater. The production manager is still unsure about the content of the production they have booked but has great faith that they will sell better than ever by bringing in such a well-known artist to their small theater. The fact that he will premiere a new work with them is the most significant event in the theaters memory. The caretaker at the venue helps where he can and suddenly becomes a crucial piece in the director’s vision. A vision that gradually turns out to be not as concrete and clear as it should be, especially with the season launch just hours away.

SPECTACLE is a satirical glance at both the theater and cultural industry, the audience, and “the common people,” and the society we live in. A society in constant change where people’s priorities and values are always up for evaluation. Do we really need live cultural experiences? And what use do these artists really serve?

The performance is aimed at those who appreciate live cultural experiences and is a commentary on both the theater, the artists, the audience, and society at large. We sometimes experience significant dissonance in the programming of theaters and the desires and demands of the audience. “Great art” becomes a vague concept, with an obviously subjective starting point, and this discussion is addressed in the performance. Near and emotionally connected art, served in an accessible way, can, in certain artistic circles, be considered too banal and simple, requiring too little of its audience and, in the right packaging, even as commercial. In return, one must acknowledge that good sales primarily mean that a nerve has been struck, and that the content offers something appealing to the audience. The desire is to get closer to the audience and engage them in the dialogue around what producers and providers of performing arts do and think “wrong.” After all, it is the audience for whom we create art. The performance uses humor, both for self-criticism and to blur the barriers that, for some, make art and theater inaccessible as both a form and an arena.