boys - marie bergby handeland

premiered at black box theatre, oslo - norway 12th of october 2022.

idea and choreography - marie bergby handeland (website)

musical guidance - ingvild langgård (website)

set and costume design - ida grimsgaard (website)

lighting design - martin myrvold

sound - einar norberg

producer - thea åretun svensson

dramaturg - elin amundsen grinaker

photos - simen thornquist dieserud

creating artists - tayza naing, allan tolnæs, kjetil myhren, jonathan jansson, ruben fladberg, ridwan noor, andreas skoveng lillesæter, mikael blum, elias emanuel nordahl

read review at dagbladet.no here

read review at shakespearetidsskiftet here

“boys” is a choreographed concert performed by a group of boys aged 15–19. the boys come from various places in oslo and the surrounding area, with different experience and interest in music and performing arts. over a long period, they have met each other and gotten to know each other through music, movement and themes that occupy them. together, they have created a bunch of songs where genres such as pop, folk music and rap are mixed and staged.

choreographer marie bergby handeland's starting point for “boys” is curiosity for what kind of community arises in a group of boys – what power, vulnerability, seriousness and humor can develop in them. much of bergby handeland's work is driven by a desire to create larger physical communities. she wants to turn up the volume on voices and bodies she thinks we should listen to, dispute what we have already listened to by placing it in new frames, and bring out latent choreographies in people and spaces that don't necessarily know they have them in them . she is interested in conversations about power, responsibility and closeness in the public space - about who we are and how we see each other there.