A Kidd Pivot & Electric Company Theatre co-production.
Premiered July 23, 2015
Toronto, PANAMANIA // Canadian Stage
A state of shock and bewilderment encompasses you in the wake of a disaster. A timeless space where you return again and again, repeatedly responding to the disaster long after it has subsided. Here, a crisis-management team is keeping your emergency situation alive and present, a trusted voice is urging you to come to terms with the past, and a steady supply of The Show is available for all the distraction, escape and pleasure you crave. You are the Survivor.
Olivier Award-winning Crystal Pite and pioneering playwright/performer Jonathon Young join creative forces in this unforgettable hybrid of theatre and dance. Epic, engrossing and visually arresting, Betroffenheit touches on themes of loss, addiction and recovery. With unflinching honesty, Pite and Young explore what happens to a person in the wake of trauma. Five extraordinary performers provide a glossy cabaret to Young’s tragic central character using contemporary dance, comedy, drama and text.
With an exceptional team of artistic collaborators, this major new production has taken North America by storm. As thrilling as it is affecting, it is a stunning testament to the transformative power of art.
Co-produced by PANAMANIA presented by CIBC, the arts and culture program of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games, Sadler’s Wells (London UK), The Banff Centre as part of the 2015 Performing Arts Residency Program through the support of The Stollery Family and Andrea Brussa, On the Boards and the Seattle Theatre Group through the support of Glenn Kawasaki, National Arts Centre (Ottawa), the CanDance Network, Canadian Stage (Toronto), L’Agora de la Danse (Montreal), Brian Webb Dance Company (Edmonton), and Dance Victoria (Victoria).
“Emotionally intense and unsettling as it often is, this gripping and visually arresting production exemplifies what can happen when theatre and dance combine to achieve what neither could accomplish alone… it stands as a testament to the redemptive power of art.”
“Betroffenheit is a harrowing representation of trauma and suffering – but it’s also a stunning testament to what can be made when life undergoes a pretty strange and irreducible process – when it’s turned into art… Betroffenheit is rare and staggering. I texted friends the following morning and told them to drop everything and go see it. There is darkness on that stage that will stay with me for a long time.”
★★★★★ "In this raw and riveting drama of mental conflict, words and dance are expertly combined. But the second half of the work, in which Young exits the room for an open stage, is dominated by a section of pure dance whose imagery seems to stage the cathartic process of Young’s recuperation. Pite’s special genius is in choreographing the body language of emotion in the distorted, lifting, folding shapes of her dancers’ bodies. In the sharply specific rhythms of trauma and comfort we can read whole narratives of suffering and recovery."
PHOTOS
TRAILER
JON & CRYSTAL ACCEPT OLIVIER AWARD FOR BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
SHOCK AND AWE: PTSD IN PERFORMANCE
MEDIA LINKS
“Stepping into contemporary dancer Crystal Pite’s choreographed life” – ARTICLE, Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail (February 12, 2016)
“Finding joy within the darkness” – ARTICLE, Deborah Meyers, Vancouver Sun
“Crystal Pite reflects on the trip through trauma that created Betroffenheit” – ARTICLE, Janet Smith, The Georgia Straight (February 24, 2016)
“Betroffenheit dance show, created out of tragedy, explores PTSD and recovery” – INTERVIEW, CBC News
BETROFFENHEIT INDIEGOGO SUPPORTERS
Thanks to all of our wonderful 2015 Indiegogo campaign contributors. Your contribution helped us to bring Betroffenheit to the stage!
Peter & Melody Anderson, Marie Claire Beauchesne, Cheryl Berge, Deborah Bouchard, Shawn & Jessica Bouchard, Cindy Broquaire, Miranda Burgess, Steven Charles, Jamie Chew, Sheila Collier, Todd Collier, Sarah Corey, Dominika Daskova, Sandra Ferens, Christelle Golzio, Alison Grant, Ginger Graves, Laura Gray, Don & Joan Greenfield, Jane Heyman & Lionel Johnston, Leslie Hurtig, Su Hutchinson, Pam Johnson, Diane Kent, Glynis Leyshon, Lisa Loomis, John Mackenzie, Julia Mackey & Dirk Van Stralen, Alison Matthews, Jillian Meyers, Paula Palyga, Jane Perry, Paul Rosenbaum, Veronica Rossos, Ilona Scharer, Eleanor C. Sleath, Sarah G. Stanley, Daniela Stelzer, Lynda Stokes, Jan Suchomel, Haig Sutherland, Jennifer Swan, Alan Teder, Johanna Thomas, Dawn Williamson, Jonathan Winsby, and George & Joanne Young (as of July 30, 2015).
Electric Company Theatre and Kidd Pivot gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Province of British Columbia, British Columbia Arts Council, BC Gaming, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Foundation, the Koerner Foundation, the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation, and countless individual and business supporters.
