Yamabiko Prólogos

A physical theatre performance by Janne Hoem

APARTE 22
Støperiet Saturday 5.11 


Spirit of valley reverberation; The wilds of Japan are full of strange phenomena, like echoes that bounce back with more delay than they should, or that come back slightly different from the original sound. When the echo comes from the mountains, it is due to something called a yamabiko. They are very small, appearing like a cross between a dog and a wild monkey. Yamabiko are known almost exclusively by their voices alone, which are skilled at mimicking any sound, including natural sounds, human language, and more recently, trains and cars. They also occasionally unleash terrible and mysterious screams deep in the forests that can carry for very long distances.

Yamabiko Prólogos is a nonverbal, physical theatre performance absent of traditional narrative. Hoem’s experimental theater creation and artistic instruction is rooted in collective, improvising processes. With her collaborators from various fields, cultures, and perspectives, Hoem seeks to communicate through the symbolic imagery found in folklore, mythology, and dreams.

Poster: Alan Veiga

The cast is a mixture of performers from 10 to 76 years of age, both from Norway and Japan. Some of the performers are highly professional and some never entered the stage before.

With Nelly Øster, Freddy Voldstad, Jens Stenstadvold, Hallvard Håstein, Ophelia Leithe-Rief, butoh-duo Mutsumi & Neiro (JP), Mitsuyo Uesugi (JP), Joachim Vefling Seeberg.

Directed by Janne Hoem.

Music: The Wind In Kirtipur by Carl Michael von Hausswolff.