Copenhagen is always worth a visit, but culture lovers should consider a trip this August when Copenhagen International Theatre is set to disturb and enchant the capital with Metropolis – a festival of theatre, art and performance for the whole city.
The first performance, on 1 August is a 3 km route of 7000 knee-high concrete blocks collapsing like dominoes across streets, squares and through institutions such as the National Museum, Copenhagen Cathedral and the Town Hall. It is a project by Copenhagen’s very own citizens – 300 volunteers build the route during the day, and in just 30 minutes, they will all tumble. A monumental work with a brief existence.
Another of the festival’s major projects is by the masters of docu-theatre, Rimini Protokoll from Berlin. They will bring 100 Copenhageners together at the Royal Theatre’s Playhouse in a docu-performance which goes beyond the usual clichés and prejudices about Copenhagen. Each of the participants has been chosen statistically to represent 1 % of the citizens. The performance is a city snapshot of the individuals who make up the city. We put a face and a destiny on the dull figures and boring statistics. Who are the Copenhageners? Are they happy? What do they want to change in our society? This will create a live snapshot of the city.
The pop-up culture house AEROPOLIS will encapsulate the Metropolis spirit by letting the city’s community centres join forces. This is a gigantic 750 m3 transparent plastic bubble, which will be inflated on 13 different sites and filled with city activities arranged by local culture actors.
Metropolis will also create art using the components of the city. When Le G. Bistaki conquers Refshaleoen, they turn tiles into beautiful installations and raw props for urban circus and decadent dancing. The result is an unusually beautiful performance in the middle of an industrial wasteland.
Like society’s outcasts, the Kumulus performers live in piles of rubbish. The company is well-known for its strong and moving realism, fully expressed in this poetic allegory about the consumer society.
Non Nova struggles to rule the elements and creates breathtakingly beautiful magic, where plastic bags come alive like floating ballerinas, and the audience is whirled into a devastating hurricane.
You can explore Copenhagen through the 12 Metropolis projects. Become a voyeur on a roof high above the city, play games created for Copenhagen with Invisible Playground, meet street kids underneath a bridge or experience many more activities. If you’re wondering where to go in August then check out the Metropolis festival and enjoy some artistic surprise attacks.
More details: www.kit.dk
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