Pytheas Travels

Tøyen Fil og Klafferi I Ergon Ensemble I Maja S.K. Ratkje I Hypercomf

15–16 September 2023
200–300 kr

Pytheas Travels takes its name from the real life ancient Greek mariner whose writings about his incredible voyages were lost forever in the great fire of Alexandria. Composer Maja S.K. Ratkje, the Greek multidisciplinary artist duo Hypercomf and a musician crew have taken his journeys around the Mediterranean Sea and all the way up to the frozen north, as the starting point of a turbulent musical cruise that includes lavish parties, an onboard fire, and AI programmers encountered in the belly of a whale.

Scenes filmed around the coastlines of Greece and Norway show the contrasts between the two locations, and the historic connections between them via trade and tourism. A chamber band on stage plays a kind of modern electronic lounge music, while the increasingly strange surroundings are glimpsed through a series of portholes. Take your place on the deck of the good ship On the Ocean and prepare to be whisked away to another world.

PS: The bar in Vinterhagen opens one hour before the performance. Explore their exclusive Pytheas cocktail menu featuring drinks mixed specifically for this occasion.

Pytheas Travels is part of the Transmissions project, supported by the EEA Grants programme and the Norwegian Financial Mechanisms 2014–2021. Transmissions is coordinated by Onassis Stegi (Greece) in partnership with Ultima.

ultimAdvisor

Deckchairlover72

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Wow

Throughout the performance, voices, images and music weave a story from mythology, mass tourism and maritime marvels. A thought-provoking package tour that made me question what mass travel has done to us and the planet. I’ve already booked my cabin for next year!

CapnBirdseye

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Oceanic fun  

From the comfort of your seat in the marble hall of Sentralen you embark on a journey that will leave you with lifelong memories. I liked the way the auditorium became an extension of the stage-set, so that it felt like we were sitting inside the cruiseship’s dining hall.  It made the experience so vivid I could almost smell the salt spray and hear the seagulls overhead.

Maja Solveig Kjestrup Ratkje I Photo: Ellen Lande Gossner

Hypercomf I Photo: Hypercomf

Tøyen Fil og Klafferi I Photo: Anna-Julia Granberg / Blunderbuss

Concept and composition

  • Maja S.K. Ratkje

Concept and video

  • Hypercomf 

Musicians

  • Tøyen Fil og Klafferi and Ergon Ensemble

Speakerphone Narrator Voice

  • Guri Glans

Pytheas Narrator Voice

  • Torbjørn Davidsen

Live Sound, Video & Light Synchronization

  • Trond Kjelsås

Stage Light Design

  • Eliza Alexandropoulou

Costume design

  • Lita Kokkonari

Musicians in Recording and Video

  • Manos Ventouras
  • Andreas-Rolandos Theodorou
  • Konstantinos Panagiotidis
  • Dimitris Travlos
  • Hanne Jones Rekdal
  • Elena Perales Andreu
  • Eira Bjørnstad Foss
  • Marianne Baudouin Lie
  • Tove Margrethe Erikstad

Musicians in Recording

  • Maja S.K. Ratkje
  • Amund Sjølie Sveen
  • Craig Snowden
  • Richard Burrows

In collaboration with

  • Sentralen Mat

Co-produced by

  • Onassis Stegi

Co-funded by

  • Bergesenstiftelsen, EEA and Norway Grants as a part of Transmissions

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