The Chronic Life

 

Dedicated to Anna Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova

Russian writers and human rights activists, murdered by anonymous thugs in 2006

and 2009 for their opposition to the Chechnyan conflict.

 

CHARACTERS: a Black Madonna, the widow of a Basque officer, a Chechnyan refugee, a Rumanian housewife, a Danish lawyer, a rock musician from the Faroe Islands, a Colombian boy searching for his father disappeared in Europe, an Italian street violinist, two mercenaries.

 

The Chronic Life takes place in various European countries in 2031, after the Third Civil War.  Groups and individuals converge, challenging each other over their diverging dreams, disappointments and hopes.  A boy from Latin America arrives, seeking his father, who has inexplicably disappeared.  "Stop searching for your father" people tell him while escorting him from door to door.

 

The boy is not saved by knowledge or innocence.  Rather, a newfound ignorance leads him to his door.  All this takes place to the bewilderment of all of us, who no longer believe the unbelievable: that a single victim's life is beyond value, is worth more than God.

 

Languages: Danish, Spanish, English, Romanian, Chechen and Basque

 

Duration: approx. 70 min.

 

Actors: Kai Bredholt, Roberta Carreri, Jan Ferslev, Elena Floris, Donald Kitt, Tage Larsen, Carolina Pizarro, Fausto Pro, Iben Nagel Rasmussen, Julia Varley.

 

Text: Ursula Andkjær Olsen and Odin Teatret

Dramaturg: Thomas Bredsdorff

Literary advisor: Nando Taviani

Light design: Odin Teatret

Light advisor: Jesper Kongshaug

Scenic space: Odin Teatret

Scenic space advisors: Jan de Neergaard, Antonella Diana

Music: Odin Teatret, traditional and modern melodies
Costumes: Odin Teatret, Jan de Neergaard

Technical director: Fausto Pro

Assistant directors: Raúl Iaiza, Pierangelo Pompa, Ana Woolf

Dramaturgy and directing: Eugenio Barba

 

 

Above text in other languages:

Dansk: DET KRONISKE LIV - Ovenstående tekst på dansk

Español: LA VIDA CRÓNICA - El texto anterior en español
Français: LA VIE CHRONIQUE - Le texte ci-dessus en français

Italiano : LA VITA CRONICA - Il testo di cui sopra in italiano

 

 

First performance:  Holstebro 12 September 2011

 

Production: Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium (Holstebro), Teatro de La Abadía (Madrid), The Grotowski Institute (Wroclaw)

 

 

 

Technical Information

English:  TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Italiano:   INFORMAZIONI TECNICHE

 

Press - Articles & Reviews

in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish:

> Scenekunst.no, d. 13. november 2015 (Norway)

> Klassekampen d. 9. november 2015 (Norway)

> Århus Stiftstidende - Kultur, d. 9. april 2014 (Denmark)

> Arbejderen - Kultur, d. 28. september 2012 (Denmark)

> Politiken - Kultur, d. 21. september 2012 (Denmark)

> Frederiksborg Amts Avis, d. 20. september 2012 (Denmark)

> Magasinet København, d. 19. september 2012 (Denmark)

> Norsk Shakespeare- og Teatertidsskrift 2-3 / 2012 (Denmark)

> Vårt Land, d. 20. juni 2012 (Norway)
> Klassekampen, d. 14. juni 2012 (Norway)

> Klassekampen, mandag d. 21. maj 2012 (Norway)

> Information, søndag d. 2. oktober 2011 (Denmark)

> Holstebro Dagblad, fredag d. 16. september 2011 (Denmark)

 

in English:

> Nikolett Németh: The Chronic Life, 2016 (Italy/Romania)

> Annelis Kuhlmann: Odin's Blind Eye, 2012 (Italy)

> Eugenio Barba and The Cronic Life, 2012 (Romania)

> Constellation of Somnambulists, 2012 (Poland)

in French:

> www.unfauteuilpourlorchestre.com (France)

 

in German:

> der Freitag, Kultur. 30 april 2014 (Germany)

> Badische Zeitung, Samstag 15 juni 2013 (Germany)

> Schulteater, 12 - Rolle, 1. Quartal 2013 (Germany)

 

in Italian:

> Milano - mentelocale.it, 22 ottobre 2014 (Italy)

>  ilgiornale.it - Teatro, 17 ottobre 2014 (Italy)

>  www.ilsole24ore.com, 16 ottobre 2014 (Italy)

> www.criticalminds.it, 15 ottobre 2014 (Italy)

>  Milano - repubblica.it, 14 ottobre 2014 (Italy)

> L'Unità, martedì 19 febbraio 2013 (Italy)

> FuturaTV.it, Giovedì 10 novembre 2011 (Italy)

> il Paese nuovo, martedì 1 novembre 2011 (Italy)

> la Repubblica, domenica 9 ottobre 2011 (Italy)

> il manifesto, domenica 9 ottobre 2011 (Italy)

> Corriere della Sera, domenica 9 ottobre 2011 (Italy)

> l'Unità, sabato 8 ottobre 2011 (Italy)

> Corierre di Bologna, giovedì 6 ottobre 2011 (Italy)

> Atti & Sipari, ottobre 2011 (Italy)

 

in Spanish:

> EL ESPECTADOR, Sábado, 21 de marzo de 2015

> REVISTA PRIMER ACTO Cuadernos de investigación Teatral Nª 342 1/2012 (Spain)

> Conjunto 162 - Revista de teatro latinoamericano

> ARTEZ - Revista de las Artes Escénicas, n°181 - mayo 2012 (Spain)

> ARTEZ - Revista de las artes escénicas, febrero 2012 (Spain)

> Revista el Apuntador, 1 de diciembre 2011 (Ecuador)

> Revista Ñ, Clarin 25 de novembre 2011 (Argentina)

> Revista Hamlet, 15 de Octubre del 2011 (Spain)

> La Ventana, Casa de las Américas, 14 de Octubre del 2011 (Cuba)

> Revista El Picadero, Instituto Nacional del Teatro de Argentina, septembre-diciembre 2011 (Argentina)

 

 

Video

 

Eugenio Barba and the Odin Teatret actors rehearse The Chronic Life ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photos

 

Rina Skeel 03.2011

 

 

Tommy Bay 09.2011

 

 

Jan Rüsz 09.2011