BWW Finland: FOUR DAYS OF CLOSENESS (FYRA DAGAR AV NÄRHET) THEATER STREAM by Theater Viirus

I sit on my couch and snacks are ready. An image of a seagull and a window is on my tv.

The stream starts.

Beautiful music (composed by Markus Fagerudd) plays and narrator's voice starts to speak, a man and a woman's voice. The minimalistic text itself (by: Pipsa Lonka) is also beautiful.

Scenery is beautiful. The set design and its distance - by what I mean that we can see through a room on the left through a window that what happens on the other side - brings depth. Lihgting is beautiful. The seagull projections are beautiful.

But something is wrong.

I am so sad that I'm not there, sitting on one spot at the audience. As a highly sensitive and attentive critic it means so much to me that I can look at things and ponder them at my own time.

I think that the beauty of the tale and the performance would have truly been in the audience's own imagination and rest: "the man fiddles with his mole" would have been a whole lot different experience from 2 meters away than 2 centimetres away.

By this I mean that it would have been so fascinating to peek into the rooms from the audience, to see the happenings and as if "stalk" by permission. Co-experience the characters' lives. Listen to the music, look at the projections and people, vibe with the lights.

So thus by time, unfortunately, I grew anxious. I would have wanted to see things happening on stage from my own perspective, not brought close by camera.

Before filming at the terrace happenings there was a great, camera-stand-still shot of the actors bringing up tables and chairs to the stage. Also when they sprung up and got into other characters - that was fantastic!

I did see the excellence of the show. I didn't just enjoy it from my own livingroom, guided by the cameracrew.

Nevertheless the later part of the performance was a little more clear and moving by the fate of the one man, the cleaner's perspective -also the seagulls. Made you wonder about how we all are connected.

The seagull choir was very fresh and well rehearsed.

And naturally if you're a native Swedish speaker it must move you in a whole different level. Heard text moves you in a different way than read.

Thank you Virus for this piece. I do can recommand the multiartistic show as soon as the restrictions are over and we can go meet the talented team in the flesh.

Article: Rosanna Liuski
Photo: Ernest Protasiewicz

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