SURTSEY lavalove

On June 16, 1963, Soley Sveinnsdottir and Asgeir Hrafnsson left Heimaey by boat. It’s midsummer and midnight sun. Then the sky becomes dark. Flames rise straight from the sea. That night, Soley and Asgeir experience a violent volcanic eruption that changes them forever. The eruption was the first of several to create the volcanic island of Surtsey on the south coast of Iceland

The foresight Surtsey has been created through workshops with young people in the autumn of 2019, matured and changed with the global pandemic crisis in the spring of 2020, and is now occurring in its full form on the Autumn Stage 2021.

SURTSEY is a unique multidisciplinary project that combines new literature, music and dance. The project is initiated and driven by the award-winning artists Mette Karlsvik (author) and Jon Tombre (director). The work is made with young people in Ålesund and Reykjavik, in stages, not entirely different from the process of the volcanic eruption that made the island of Surtsey. Each edition of SURTSEY is colored by these cities. Included in the artistic research group are dancers Maria Lothe and Anders Engebretsen, as well as Sondre Pettersen on vocals, organ, electronics, beatboxes Bjartur «Beatur» Gudjonsson, and on light / video Erik Spets Sandvik and Corentin JPM Leven.

SURTSEY is supported by

Norwegian Culture Fund, Fund for Sound and Vision,

Oslo Municipality, Bergesenstiftelsen,

Dramatikkens hus and Dramatikerforbundet.

Co-producers are

Nordens Hus in Reykjavik and Høstscena in Ålesund.

SURTSEY lavalove is Høstscena’s opening performance 2021