– a g e o g r a p h i c a l s t r i p t e a s e –
Across the desert, behind our back. Up the mountain, down our spine. Over the sea, just under our nose. On the day the war broke out, we left home.
Geography and politics are physically extended and transformed into organic performance platforms – our bodies – and we learn what touch, presence, and endurance really are about. With Invisible Lands, the visual theatre duo Livsmedlet challenges themselves in a unique meeting between puppetry and choreography.
“Best of all is Invisible Lands (★★★★★) by Finland’s Livsmedlet Theatre. It’s the story of refugees, represented by tiny figures, like the population of a model railway, delicate and vulnerable as they flee their war-ravaged home. What makes the show extraordinary is the path they travel. Every mountain pass, snowy outcrop, desert expanse and night-time highway is created by the bodies of Ishmael Falke and Sandrina Lindgren.
The performers take turns to bare their flesh as the figures line up for their perilous journey. Falke’s back becomes their escape route from a smoking village; Lindgren’s stomach, painted blue, is the sea to Europe; knees turn into hill tops, feet form the rendezvous for a bus. The pulses of the performers breathe life into the models as they queue at border crossings, flee helicopters and crowd on to boats. It’s masterfully done, the combination of physical effort and contrasting scale making the wordless tale devastatingly sad. – The Guardian, 8.2.2019
Concept, direction and performance: Ishmael Falke and Sandrina Lindgren
Sound and Music: Niklas Nybom
Light design: Jarkko Forsman
Tour agenda 2020:
27-28 Jun: Harstad, Norway
20-25 Jun: Stuttgart, Germany
29 Apr: Maintz, Germany
3-4 Apr: Nantes, France
21 Mar: Dresden, Germany
20 Mar: Frankfurt, Germany
18-19 Mar: Eschborn, Germany
17 Mar: Rüsselheim, Germany
12 Mar: Dreieck, Germany
5-7 Mar: Montreal, Canada
26-27 Feb: Trois-Rivieres, Canada
9 Feb: Munich, Germany
7 Feb: Mannheim, Germany
6 Feb: Stuttgart, Germany
4 Feb: Heilbronn, Germany
30 Jan: Cernay, France
17 Jan: Vilnius, Lithuania
2019:
21 Dec: Skopje, Macedonia
14 Nov: Bretigny, France
12-13 Nov: Schaan, Liechtenstein
9-10 Nov: Neuchatel, Switzerland
7-8 Nov: Zürich, Switzerland
4-6 Nov: Rijeka, Kroatia
29-31 Oct: Potsdam, Germany
26 Oct: Braunschweig, Germany
1-2 Oct: Ostrava, Czech Republic
28-29 Sep: Basel, Switzerland
1-3 Aug: Mirepoix, France
22 Jun: Düsseldorf, Germany
1 Jun: Fürth, Germany
29-30 May: Erlangen, Germany
28 May: Nürnberg, Germany
25-26 May: Århus, Denmark
21-23 May: Lisbon, Portugal
16-17 May: Segovia, Spain
29-30 Mar: Parma, Italy
26-27 Mar: Malakoff, France
24 Mar: Bagneux, France
23 Mar: Chatenay, France
16 Mar: Clamart, France
15 Mar: Chatillon, France
5 Mar: Hasselt, Belgium
8 Feb: Perth, Scotland
7 Feb: Paisley, Scotland
6 Feb: Edinburgh, Scotland
1-2 Feb: Mulhouse, France