In GIREVIK, a man embarks on a physical exchange with iron weights. Dealing with the awkwardness forces his body into a new shape with every movement. This play results in a fragile, ever-expanding composition implying effort and collapse.
Besides their original purpose of weighing crops, kettlebells are firmly linked to workout culture and their use by soldiers, athletes and strongmen. In this work we see an object that has stood as a symbol of strength for centuries in a striking new dimension.
Girevik challenges the historically hyper-masculine aura around the kettlebell and seeks an alternative poetics of labour.
Venue: Black box, outdoor
Stage: frontal, minimal 8m (depth) x 7m (width) x 4m (height)
Length: 50 minutes
Age of audience: 8+
Premiere: February 13, 2024, Cirkopolis Prague
UPCOMING:
February 08, 2025
Hellerau, Dresden (DE)
© Jakub Dušek
Creation and Performance: Roman Škadra
Research Collaboration: Benjamin Richter, Aleksandras Lempertas
Creative Advice: Benjamin Richter, Darragh McLoughlin, Claudio Stellato
Kettlebell Coach: Frank Kraft
Sound: Aleksandras Lempertas
Light: Piotr Lemieszczuk
Costume: Anna-Katharina Andrees
Stage Construction: Tomasz Bajsarovicz
Production and management: Anna-Katharina Andrees, Ute Classen
Partners/Coproduction: Cirqueon - Center for new circus, Center for the Development of Choreography SE.S.TA
Funding: Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR,
Residencies: Berlin Theaterhaus - Kulturinitiative Förderband gGmbH Berlin, schloss bröllin e.V., Ringlokschuppen Ruhr Mülheim a. d. Ruhr, SE.S.TA Žďár nad Sázavou, Cirqueon Prague, Jatka78 Prague.
