On the 9th and 10th of November, Trafó brings the world-renowned Finnish visual theatre company, WHS to its stage. Inspired by the 19th-century magicians’ stage illusions, Lähtö examines human relationships with all its complications and sometimes even absurdness in a fusion of dreamlike imagery, illusions and sound.
The Helsinki based group was founded in 2002 by the visual artist Kalle Nio, the juggler Ville Walo and the costume and set designer Anne Jämsä. Since then, WHS has been traveling all around the world, performing in more than 30 countries. Their shows are distinguished by the exciting mixture of contemporary circus, magic, dance, and other visual arts while experimenting with different possibilities of artistic expressions. With its work, the company has largely contributed to the rise of the Finnish new circus in the past decade.
Now the visual theatre/contemporary circus group brings its award-winning show, Lähtö/Departure to Budapest. The production, premiered in Les Migrateurs theatre in Strasbourg in 2013, is directed by Kalle Nio.
Inspired by the 19th-century magicians’ stage illusions, Lähtö examines human relationships with all its complications and sometimes even absurdness in a fusion of dreamlike imagery, illusions and sound. The focus is on a woman and a man caught in a difficult situation, battling with their feelings and also each other.
The floating memories and emotions of the couple are expressed by the movements of their bodies, the motions, and transformations of the surrounding objects, alongside the projection of pre-recorded videos. Through the imaginative performance, the spectator dives into a dreamlike inner world. Following the visionary journey, we are witnessing this story of two that’s utterly personal, and yet so familiar at the same time.
The unique conception was built on the cooperation of various professionals from different fields of art and brought to life by the performers and creators of the show, Kalle Nio and Vera Selene Tegelman.
During the 9th and the 10th of November, there will be other opportunities to meet with the creators of Lähtö:
* The smART! XTRA // Illusions event presents a discussion with Kalle Nio, the performer, and director of the show on 10th November.
* Trafó will also host a workshop with the artist, entitled “Screening, role of the animated picture and it’s possibilities in a performance”.
