On the 29th and 30th of August in Klúbbur Listahátíðar (Iðnó), the international theatre company REYKJAVÍK ENSEMBLE will present a collaborative performance “Ég kem alltaf aftur” (I shall always return). The piece is inspired by the work of a Polish theatre master Tadeusz Kantor who thirty years ago visited Listahátíð Reykjavíkur with his performance Ég kem aldrei aftur.
REYKJAVÍK ENSEMBLE is founded and artistically directed by Pálína Jónsdóttir, theatre and opera director together with her collaborator Ewa Marcinek, project manager and writer. In September 2019 they established a new entity within the Icelandic theater scene, a platform enabling artistic participation of professional artists of all languages and backgrounds, who are often marginalized in the cultural sector and hence absent from the current Icelandic theatre reality.
For its two first productions Opening Ceremony (premiere: December 2019, Tjarnarbíó) and Polishing Iceland (March 2020, Tjarnarbíó), Reykjavík Ensemble engaged over fifty artists living and working in Iceland, representing different languages and cultural backgrounds. Noticed by media and critics, the company has been honored with a title of Listhópur Reykjavíkur 2020 and nominated to Gríman – Íslensku sviðslistaverðlaunin (Icelandic Performing Arts Awards) as SPROTI ÁRSINS 2020.
In summer 2019, Pálína gathered a group of Polish artists living in Iceland, whom she invited to collaborate on her new piece inspired by the work of Polish theatre master Tadeusz Kantor. It has been thirty years since Kantor’s death and his visit to Iceland at the Reykjavik Arts Festival in 1990. His work inspired Pálína and shaped her vision of theatre work.
“Kantor’s work opened up a new portal for my passion and understanding of theatre. His theatre ignited a fire in my belly that still burns now almost thirty years after the experience of seeing I Shall Never Return that played at the Reykjavík Arts Festival. That’s how powerful theatre can be. Polish theatre artists are, it seems, inherently gifted and Iceland is blessed that they want to live and work here. My heart raced with the thought that I could possibly find Polish artists and inspire them to work with me on building a theatre performance, honoring the legacy of Kantor. I found them one by one and they embraced the idea and so did Vigdís Jakobsdóttir, the artistic director of Reykjavík Arts Festival, who has programmed, Ég kem alltaf aftur, for her upcoming 2020 festival, where the piece will be showcased as work in progress”.
The piece is conceived during a take-over of Klúbbur Listahátíðar (Iðnó) by Reykjavík Ensemble. A group of Polish and international artists living in Iceland: Adam ?wita?a, Ewa Marcinek, Jördis Richter, Magdalena Tworek, Mao Alheimsdóttir, Karolina Bogus?awska, Robert Zadorozny and Wiola Ujazdowska, works under the direction of Pálína Jónsdóttir. An interdisciplinary theatre production investigates and questions important current social realities, explores the universe of memories, facts and fantasies of Polish migrants in Iceland.
There is free entrance, but due to the coronavirus prevention very limited audience tickets available. The event is held in accordance with restrictions in effect during ban on gatherings.
More information can be found on reykjavikensemble.com