CANADA

This is director Nina Kareis’ personal story, a magical-realist collage of memories of her upbringing in Aarhus, Denmark in the 1970s. The early stirrings of anti-immigrant sentiment arouse feelings of unease in her, and awaken a buried trauma inherited from her Austrian-Jewish family’s experience in the aftermath of World War II. She begins to plan her escape. CANADA draws parallels between the personal and the political, the historical and the contemporary. It is a multimedia experience with both personal and universal resonance.

THE COMPANY: LIVINGSTONES KABINET

Livingstones Kabinet are an international live-arts ensemble based in Copenhagen.

The group was established by Danish director Nina Kareis and Scottish composer Pete Livingstone. Livingstones Kabinet have always seen themselves as a collective with a shifting core of actors, writers, composers, choreographers, performers, dramaturgs, musicians, set designers and directors who together create cross-disciplinary live arts with a unique and very characteristic theatrical language. Their work has a signature, image-rich, tightly-choreographed staging style, using original live and recorded music together with sound design. Whether narrative or non-narrative, Livingstones Kabinet’s pieces often reflect a darkly humorous, oblique world-view. At the same time, there is always a demonstrably straightforward and unpretentious humanity which clearly reveals itself in form, playing style and staging.

Since 2002, the group have produced and co-produced 15 shows – in both small- and larger-scale formats. Livingstones Kabinet have, in addition, collaborated and co-produced with other theatres in Denmark: The Royal Danish Theatre, Funen Opera, Teater V , Kaleidoskop, Bådteatret, Riddersalen, and Cafeteatret. In 2012 their show KLIP received an award for excellence from the Danish Arts Foundation as one of the most exciting works of that year. In 2008, their show BABBLE BABBLE was nominated for a Reumert Prize. Livingstones Kabinet are currently in receipt of core funding from The Danish Arts Council.

INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY

The company will focus on middle-scale venues and festivals who are seeking to programme a show with a unique format. Although the staging and design of CANADA is very tight, it is also very adaptable and is therefore not difficult to tour. Most of the text in CANADA is recorded and the performers do not “act” in the traditional sense, although their roles are stringent and precise. The company can therefore be flexible, and offer various models by which the piece can be performed. For example, it may be possible, after a short rehearsal period, to replace Danish performers with local performers for a specific international festival or tour. The recorded text can also be re-recorded in other languages.

The company have had success in performing CANADA to groups of 16years+ young people and can offer after-talks and workshops. The subject matter of the piece is very current and CANADA is recommended to festivals or venues interested in programming work on the subject of refugees, immigration and inherited trauma.

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CONTACT PERSON

Peter Livingstone, pete@livingstoneskabinet.com

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FORMAT AND SUSTAINABILITY

As mentioned above, one element of our sustainability approach is to offer to use local performers/technicians in the piece, thus minimizing travel from Denmark. We also try to prioritize overland transport as opposed to air travel, whenever this is possible. We hold meetings and all forms of dialogue with international partners online rather than in the flesh.

LANGUAGE

English

AUDIENCE TARGET GROUP(S)

+ 16

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