The Jo Strømgren Kompani
The Society
Highly Caffeinated Dancers With Aversions (Gasp) to Tea
By GIA KOURLAS, The New York Times
October 16, 2008
Ideas percolate like pots of steaming, delicious coffee in “The Society,” a work by the Norwegian choreographer and director Jo Strømgren. Three men — die-hard consumers of that beverage — lose their equilibrium when a tea bag mysteriously appears. What ensues is a caffeine-induced nightmare in which the performers, moving with jittery precision and speaking largely in gibberish, become both the accusers and the accused.
“The Society, ” performed on Wednesday night at Abrons Arts Center (in a co-presentation with Performance Space 122), expertly straddles the fragile line between humor and horror. The production features dream-sequence passages of dancing in which the performers forgo their rigid characterizations to dust the floor in floating, orgasmic unison; comedic touches worthy of Peter Sellers; and a witty stream of nonsensical language.
As a program note points out: “For all audiences: the performers do not even know themselves what is being said onstage. So please do not panic.” It’s like hearing a conversation through the ears of your pet; inflection helps the meaning seep through.
The setting is Central Europe, where the three men — Bartek Kaminski, John Fjelnseth Brungot and Trond Fausa Aurvag — relish their cafe existence. The discovery of the tea bag shatters that fantasy. With increasing agitation, indicating they have drunk one cup too many, the performers resort to burning and electrocuting one another in a quest to get to the bottom of who the enemy is.
Mr. Strømgren’s torture chamber, which includes a wooden counter with pigeonholes for rows of white cups and saucers, becomes a setting for even more outlandish behavior when a pair of red chopsticks is found. The pseudosophisticated European sensibility undergoes a Chinese invasion, and Mr. Stromgren holds little back in his razor-sharp depiction of Asian stereotypes.
Martial arts, karaoke and the Communist worker all have a place in “The Society,” in which mistrust gives way to stupidity and, finally, senseless brutality. It’s a microcosm of the world at large, and it doesn’t take a shot of espresso to understand that fear is the scariest thing out there.
This weekend ONLY
Fri + Sat @ 8:30 | Sun @ 6:30
At The Abrons Arts Center
The Jo Strømgren Kompani
'The Society'
N.Y. Premiere
-Jennifer Dunning, New York Times
As a society of sworn coffee drinkers gather for their daily ritual the harmony is broken by a horrific incident: the discovery of a used teabag. As the investigations unfold the questions become more complicated. Do they have a domestic traitor among them or is the teabag a symbol of a much larger global scenario? How far will they have to go in order to track the traitor down, smoke him out, and bring this evil act to justice?
Jo Strømgren Kompani's has created its own international niche through its long-term research on abstract text. Each production performed by JSK involves a completely new linguistic alias, inspired by a specific culture or region. Worldwide success in 45 countries has proven this nonsensical language manifesto to be more than just a temporary funny idea. For all audiences: Don't panic, the performers do not even know what is being said on stage.
Oct 15-19
Wed-Sat 8:30pm
Sun 6:30pm
At the Abrons Arts Center
located at 466 Grand St.
SUBWAY: F train to Delancey, J or M trains to Essex Street,
D or B trains to Grand Street
BUS: M15, M9 or M14 to Grand Street, M22 to Montgomery Street,
B39 to Essex
Tickets from $25
$15 (students/seniors)
$10 (P.S. 122 members)
Co-presented with The Abrons Arts Center.
is supported by Arts Council Norway, The Royal Norwegian Consulate General, and the American - Scandinavian Foundation
Photos by: Knut Bry, Rachel Roberts
Performance Space 122
150 1st Ave. (@ E. 9th St.)
New York, NY 10009
General Info: (212) 477-5288
Administrative Offices: (212) 477-5829
Tickets Online: www.ps122.org
Tickets by Phone: at (212) 352-3101
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