Come as you are invites you to let go of understanding, to succumb to the unknown, getting lost and then finding a way back.
Verk choose to dismiss the big questions with a simple hand gesture. This performance focuses on the small joyous moments; the joy of repetition, the joy of patterns, the joy of finding connections and imitating the artworks of others. Basically; a panoramic display of uninhibited joy.
They invoke the work of world-renowned choreographers such as Pina Bausch, Gene Kelley and Yvonne Rainer in an attempt to transport themselves to unknown territory beyond their control and own artistic expression. Accompanied by the soundtracks of recognized Norwegian musicians, they dance to the tones of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, a version of an old overture developed by the French opera and ballet for their royal visits. However, The Art of Fuge has now been replaced with The Art of the drum solo. They go on dancing to John Cage’s In a Landscape, a dreamlike copy of Erik Satie.
Come as you are is about appreciating art as perfection, fallibility, and honesty, or as Cage once put it: “I have nothing to say and I am saying it, and that is poetry as I need it.”
Verk Produksjoner: Solveig Laland Mohn, Saila Hyttinen, Anders Mossling and Fredrik Hannestad.
Musicians: Jonas Cambien (piano), Axel Skalstad (drums), Heida Mobeck (tuba)
Visuals: Agnes Gry
Dramaturge: Camilla Eeg-Tverbakk
Supported by: Kulturrådet and Dramatikkens Hus.
Venue for the opening: Atelier Nord, Oslo.
“When everything is connected to everything else, it is not so easy to know who is speaking, where somethings starts and ends, or what is more or less important. The question is whether it always is important to know that. Perhaps the need for these clear divisions are connected to our Western culture ́s division between body and mind, between you and me, culture and nature, man and technology. In the performance Beat The Drum, reflections upon these issues are happening concurrently and on many different planes. Such a situation could have become too much; quite overwhelming, incredibly confusing, or right out terrifying. Yes, we are on unsafe ground, but neither of these feelings occur when Verk are the organisers of the gathering. On the contrary; the atmosphere is filled with friendliness, quietude, openness and generosity, combined with a definite and decisive performance structure, and perhaps it is exactly the stringent disposition that contributes to the feeling of safety. (…) Throughout the performance we share the joy of mediating energy and emotions through music. Especially through long stretches of great drum-solos. We are invited in, into the rhythm, into a society, the traditional ritual function of the drums is taken into use for all it ́s worth. At the very end the invitation is emphasised as we are offered drinks, and we get a choice of beer or soft drinks. We are not only sharing music and stories together, having a glass together is a well known community builder. With this final act, the performance is framed by again activating the audience ́s bodies, this time through our pallet.” Grete Melby, scenekunst.no, 05. November 2015
Photo / video: Camilla Jensen
‘Come as you are’ – short video from rehearsals December 2016 from verkproduksjoner on Vimeo.