Freely based on the life’s work of the eccentric artist Henry Darger.
Seven sisters, The Vivian Girls, arrive at the kingdom of Glandelinia where hundreds of thousands of children are enslaved. The sisters start a rebel group to overthrow the evil slave owner John Manley and his army. They cannot imagine the grim adventure ahead nor the wealth of capacities within the girls themselves.
The Vivian Girls is a dangerous, imaginative and merciless account, beyond reality. Nature and humanity collapse and children rebel against adult in order to save whatever fragments of humanity are left. The story has been dramatized by Felicia Ohly and is directed by Linda Forsell. “The Story of the Vivian Girls in what is known as The Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnean War Storm, caused by the Child Slave Rebellion” was written and illustrated by the eccentric artist Henry Darger. The artwork, known as the world’s longest novel, was found after his death in Chicago in 1973 and includes 15,000 pages of text and an impressive number of visual collages.
Director Linda Forsell is one of the five artistic leaders of the independent group PotatoPotato Scenkonst (PotatoPotato Performance Art), based in Malmö with a branch in Stockholm. In her artistic work, Forsell frequently examines young femininity as a form of resistance. Among her recent productions: I’m Her(e) and Riddare av tusen äventyr (The Knight of a Thousand Adventures), both of which were selected for performance at the BIBU Performing Arts Biennial for Children and Youth, the first in 2018 and the second in 2020.
Photo: Ellika Henrikson
Performed in Swedish, no English subtitles.
PRODUCTION
By LINDA FORSELL, FELICIA OHLY, FREELY BASED ON THE WORK OF HENRY DARGER Dramatization FELICIA OHLY Concept and Direction LINDA FORSELL Ensemble ANNA BJELKERUD, HANS BRORSON, HANNAH ALEM DAVIDSON, KARIN DE FRUMERIE, EMIL LJUNGESTIG, RAMTIN PARVANEH, ELLA SCHARTNER Scenography and costume design AGNES ÖSTERGREN Mask/make-up design SIGRID NATHORST WINDAHL Light design MIRA SVANBERG Sound design TOMMY CARLSSON Composer MARIA W HORN Choreography SOLEDAD HOWE Dramaturge LISA LINDÉN With permission © 2020 KIYOKO LERNER / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK
