Cry Me a River
The Quest for the Source (2020)
An expedition to the source of the Styx has taken Karen Røise Kielland and Katja Dreyer to the heart of Greek mythology. This mythical river was thought to be the border between our upper world and the underworld. The water made Achilles immortal, made Narcissus fall in love with his own reflection, and mere mortals lose their memory if they drink from it. Through images, objects, movement and stories, they reconstruct their extraordinary journey. They breathe new life into an old myth through numerous encounters with local residents and their stories about the river. The performance begins with multiplicity and chaos, but the closer to the source, the more order and monochrome silence begin to surface.
idea, direction and performance Karen Røise Kielland & Katja Dreyer | dramaturge Marit Grimstad Eggen | scenography Ole Martin Lund Bø | composition & music Jessica Sligter | lighting design Ingeborg Staxrud Olerud | speachcoach Isabelle Barth | co-production Buda, Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek, Black Box teater | support Norsk Kulturråd, the Flemish Community, The Flemish Community Commission, Fond for Utøvende kunstnere, Norsk Fond for Lyd og Bilde, Performing Arts Hub Norway | thanks to Linda Theodoru, Danae Theodoridou, Dimitris Anagnostopoulos, Anastasia Efstathiou, Willem De Wolf, The Norwegian Institute, Athens Panayotis and his mother, kunstencentrum Nona, Kaaitheater, PACT Zollverein
“Art is, of course, a serious matter but it can also be terrific fun, as Karen Røise Kielland and Katja Dreyer showed in their fabulous Cry Me A River – The Quest For The Source, which cast a surreal eye on the birth and evolution of western civilisation with a heady cocktail of Greek and Norse mythology, plaster of paris torsos, Wagnerian anthems, a search for the source of the river Styx and some excellent jokes. It was a wonderful and witty piece of performance art..”
— The Greenwich Visitor
“Two women went in search of the source of the mythical river Styx. It turned into a performance that is demanding to watch, but which remains exciting all the way to the turning point and the final redemption.”
— Chris Erichsen, Scenekunst
