Jo Stromgren Kompani, The Hospital

Review in Issue 17-4 | Winter 2005

In a lonely environment of stained green walls, bare electric bulbs and dirty sheets, three women wait, their time punctuated by the whine of passing aircraft, and divided into a system of games, tasks and increasingly bizarre rituals. The Hospital by the Norwegian Jo Stromgren Kompani combines movement, dance and partially invented language with consummate skill, while the three performers brilliantly convey the fluctuations in the relationships between the characters – the real subject matter of the piece – with gutsy, powerful physicality and acutely observed acting. A simple, subtle set forms a background for the complex, defined characters to perform their absurd functions. Quirky choreography is supported by a confident relationship with text, and the dark, more sadistic aspects of the narrative are deftly shot through with wicked humour. The result is a moving, thoughtful performance, atmospheric to the point where we can smell the ether, and taste the anaesthetic despair.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Festival
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Aug 2005

This article in the magazine

Issue 17-4
p. 25