THE BORDER (Jo Strømgren Kompani): 2015 Fringe review 32.1

Border-1_knut-BryJo Strømgren’s scintillating exploration of the territorial tensions between a man and a woman working in the same office takes us beyond the frontier of the cubicle wall to traverse the dynamic boundaries of human relations via music, movement, and dance. In this sensual, sometimes farcical tour de force, the protagonists (Ida Holten Worsøe and Sigrid Edvardsson), who do not share the same language, outdo each other in the antagonization department with superb creativity. When the man notices the woman bending over to place paper in a wastebasket, his emotions become remapped, taking the drama in another direction. Friction builds, and a beautifully expressive, passionately performed musical segue ensues near each peak and valley.

Though their languages are babble-like, Worsøe and Edvardsson convey the characters’ feelings through physicality and facial gestures, making it easy to follow both overt and subtextual elements in the play. Mime and voice-overs add exposition and humor. An impressively succinct set (Jo Strømgren) takes on numerous stage transformations. Music (Tauno Palo, Viljo Vesterinen, Jean Sibelius, Tamara Lund, Armas Järnefelt, Wayne Shanklin, Maria Tanase, Matti Viljainen) and choreography (Jo Strømgren) are superbly matched. Sound (Lars Årdal) and lighting (Stephen Rolfe) are excellently employed througout this engagingly progressive production. THE BORDER belongs at the Fringe.

[FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Boulevard] September 9-12, 2015; fringearts.com/the-border.

 

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