Abrons Arts Center to Stage Jo Stromgren Kompani's THE HOSPITAL

Norway's Jo Strømgren Kompani makes its eagerly awaited return to New York with their internationally acclaimed production of The Hospital. Characterized by choreographer Jo Strømgren's darkly humorous mix of dance and theater, The Hospital is set in a remote, empty hospital where three nurses try to endure the lack of patients by injuring then treating each other, performing their duties on themselves as an alternative to the real thing. Not a healthy activity, but it passes the time. A military chopper is constantly passing overhead, revealing a far simpler explanation for their problems.

The Hospital premiered in 2005 in Riga, Latvia and has toured to 22 countries including a month-long run at the Sydney Opera House. It was selected as "The Sexiest Show of the Year" at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2006. The performances at Abrons feature the production's original, all female cast: Guri Glans, Gunhild Aubert Opdal and Ingri Enger Damon. As with previous productions, Strømgren aims to explore dance theater forms with actors not trained in dance. The Hospital also continues Strømgren's exploration of nonsense language, by having the performers speak in an invented alias of Icelandic, a language that resembles the ancient mother tongue of all Scandinavians. The intention of verbal abstraction is the same as with abstract movement: to create a wider range of associative interpretations.

Based in Norway, Jo Strømgren Kompani is one of the most successful independent groups in Scandinavia. The company has toured to over 50 countries and presents around 150 performances annually. The Company's home stage in Oslo is the Norwegian Opera House, where Artistic Director Jo Strømgren is the Choreographer in Residence. Their style is characterized by a unique mix of dance and theatre with a distinct, and often very physical humor, combined with darker, political undertones.

Jo Strømgren founded Jo Strømgren Kompani in 1998 and has developed a significant personal style with a mix of theatre, dance, puppets, film, and live music - wrapped in a nonsensical language frame. As a choreographer, a wide range of companies, from classical to contemporary, have commissioned his work. Some include Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, and Ballett Nürnberg, to name a few. As a theatre director he has mostly worked with national and municipal theatres in Scandinavia, predominantly with plays by Henrik Ibsen. As a playwright he has written a long list of plays for theatre and scripts for film. He is a member of Writer's Guild of Norway. Jo Strømgren is currently Associated Choreographer with the Norwegian National Ballet.

Performances of The Hospital will take place March 9-12 at 7:30pm at Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand St, Manhattan). Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at abronsartscenter.org or by calling 212.352.3101.

The Hospital features performances by Guri Glans, Gunhild Aubert Opdal and Ingri Enger Damon. The creative team for The Hospital includes Catrine Gudmestad (costume design), Lars Årdal and Ken Ruben Theodorsen (sound design), Stephen Rolfe (lighting design), and Jo Strømgren (direction, choreography, script and set design). Music is by Haukur Morthens, Donizetti, Bach, Los Paraguayos, Nancy Sinatra, Jan Garbarek, Barry Adamson, and Jørgen Knudsen.