Jakub Dusek
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GIREVIK
Roman Škadra
EXPO Festivals
In Girevik, a man embarks on a physical exchange with iron weights.
Responding to the objects’ proposals requires him to push his body to the edge of its physical abilities. The artist travels through a territory defined by obstacles, constantly at the risk of reaching a dead end. Confronted with his vulnerability, he labors to keep the cast-iron bodies moving. Precisely, gently, sincerely, he rearranges the heavy piles again and again. His fragile play interlaces stillness with collapse and order with chaos. The result is a slowly unfolding composition, full of noise, sweat, and tangible tension built through the artist’s physical and emotional effort.
Girevik muscles in on the domain of the traditional “strongman “archetype, and wrestles it to submission. Deconstructed, strength is unburdened of stereotypes. This work explores what is strong, and what strong is, in our nature, and explores the subtleties, revealing emotional, intellectual, and psychological dimensions.
The piece challenges the historically hyper-masculine aura around the kettlebell and seeks an alternative poetics of labor.
Without language
Created and Performed by Roman Škadra (Slovakia) | Research Collaboration by Benjamin Richter (England/Germany) and Aleksandras Lempertas (Lithuania) | Kettlebell Coaching by Frank Kraft (Germany) | Artistic Advice by Benjamin Richter (England/Germany), Darragh McLoughlin (Ireland) and Claudio Stellato (Italy) | Sound by Aleksandras Lempertas (Lithuania) | Stage Design by Tomasz Bajsarovicz (Poland) | Produced by Anna-Katharina Andrees (Germany) and Ute Classen (Germany)
24. Feb. 2024
English Theatre Berlin | International Performing Arts Center