a visual theatre puppetry roadtrip dance performance
TraFika is a rhythmical visual theatre performance, that presents a new theatrical language on the border between comics, sign language and silent film’s slapstick. Created with the Amsterdam based Swedish choreographer Sandrina Lindgren in 2011 and performed since in Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, Israel, Spain, Czech Republic and Cuba. Through a colorful mix of dance, puppetry and visual theatre the performance Trafika tells the strange story of a couple who only can communicate through traffic signs. One evening while sitting as usual by their kitchen table, the symbols takes over their conversation completely. Old memories and quarrels are brought to life in a dramatic rhythmical ride between past and present. Collision is inevitable.
Collaborators: Niklas Nybom (music), Jarkko Forsman (light design), Alex Zakkas (poster design). Coproduction: Tehdas Teatteri, Sixfingers Theatre, Hangö Teaterträff, Stockholm Fringe Festival, Turku Inernational Puppetry Festival and Centro de Cultivos Contemporáneos del Barrio.
Said in the press:
“Trafika is a charming study in marriage’s mental rampage at a kitchen table where memories are brought to life (… ) The actors cleverly use sign symbols in a bizarre pantomime, where driving becomes a metaphor for life’s drastic turns.” – Svenska Dagbladet
“The humoristic as well as the melancholic nuances of this tragicomic genre are distinctively displayed as Falke and Lindgren maintain strong presence and precise gesticulation in their performance. (…) In the skillfull and well made traFika, a world is created, with its own – both ugly and funny – set of rules, a world that kept the audience of the premiere night firmly in its grip.” – Turun Sanomat. To read the full review
“With minimal stage setup and a well-conducted soundtrack the two actors portray the life of the characters who are stuck in a routine of urban existence (…) This is a show of very high standards, a small diamond in the cultural program of Barcelona brought to us by two excellent performers which no one should miss.” – www.titeresantes.es
“Trafika is simple, rich in content, with delicate signs of black humor and high-tempo comedy. However the piece’s most important merit is in the rich associations it achieves and in the coherent way the are used in order to tell us the story… It is without doubts the force of the theatric images and formations that gives this piece an innovative artistic quality… We are looking forward to the next encounter with this company from Finland, that has brought us, without any doubts, one of the best performances in this 15th Havana’s theatre festival.” – Dania del Pino Más
“The piece translates its theme in an efficient and beautiful theatrical formation. In only 45 minutes the Trafika conveys in an original manner the couple’s affectionate world, the evolution of a conflict, the inevitable end and misfortune. A discrete yet efficient scenography with its peculiar elements, and two talented performers to sum it up.” – Frank Padrón, Juventud Rebelte.
“Wisdom, humour, simple and efficient solutions are the essential tools of this piece, which in only 45 minutes manages to leave a beautiful mark in the audience’s memory… From now on, for the audience of this performance the traffic signs of Havana will tell new stories” – Norge Espinosa Mendoza
ishmaelfalke 