Aschim, Pendry to perform Ibsen-inspired ‘Cripplewolf’ today at Embassy of Brazil, Abuja
By Editor
Inspired by Norwegian national dramatist and poet Mr. Henrik Ibsen, actor Kate Pendry and musician Mr. Audun Aschim will be performing Cripplewolf inspired by Ibsen’s play Little Eyolf. The musical and theatrical performance will take place today, Monday, April 15, 2024 at the Embassy of Brazil, Abuja
PENDRY has worked extensively with classical acting techniques, technology and experimental techniques based in Bhuto and Grotowksi. With a broad mimetic repertoire, she continues to find new intersections of artistic expression where the experienced actress can expand the range of communicative prowess.
Known as an artist who uses the theatrical to comment on contemporary society’s disharmonies, Pendry’s collaboration with composer Aschim has seen successful works such as Ode to a Mad King (about the inauguration of Donald Trump) marry ‘unperformable’ topics with accessible musical expression (full big band format), taking the narratives into an unpredictable space that audiences seems able to connect to.
In Cripplewolf, Pendry and Aschim explore the limits of their ranges as musician and actress. Pendry’s current explorations with biometric technology and the range of ‘sound’ the body is capable of, coupled with Steffensen’s focus on the theatrical, real-time performativity of composition and musicianship, combine to create a mythopoeic space, where with just two performers the room can be transformed by the sonic shadows they create.
Cripplewolf is a combination of scripted and improvised music and text. Pendry’s recent collaboration with the Lemur ensemble allowed her to develop a considerable vocabulary of vocal expression, where the actress’s voice becomes another instrument in the ensemble – far removed from ‘singing’, yet still connected to text.
Kate Pendry
Aschim recently explored the twilight world of Dagny Juel’s history in Odille Heftye Blehr’s production Madonna Prosjektet, where he played, and played as Edvard Munch providing a filmic soundtrack to the dramatic narrative unfolding on stage.
With Cripplewolf, Pendry and Aschim unite the diversity of their artistic expressions in this concert sprechen-sang, bringing together musicianship and theatricality to create a performance that seeks to nudge the boundaries of the artists’ respective disciplines.
Actress Pendry and musician Aschim experiment with biometric technology, extreme vocal registers and electroacoustic sound possibilities to create an expressive theatrical universe, a mythopoetic space of sonic shadows. Pendry is an award-winning artist who uses the theatrical to comment on the disharmonies of contemporary society. Her work combines classical acting techniques with technology.
Her collaboration with composer Aschim has produced a unique theatricality. Aschim is a guitarist and composer who works across a broad spectrum of musical expression – with a unique focus on the emotional, meaning-making potential of the guitar.
In Cripplewolf, the two explore the boundaries of their spectrum as musician and actor. In doing so, they move away from the usual interpretations of Ibsen’s play Little Eyolf. Here the central women characters are allowed to breathe more, expressing sexuality, even rage, and admitting their lack of maternal instincts. Ibsen is often understood through a narrow and very traditional prism – even in ‘modernized’ versions of his play. Pendry and Aschim propose that if you really pay attention to what Ibsen was saying you can see much more dissonance and nuance than appears at first blush.
Pendry is from London and has lived and worked in Oslo since 1995. She is a multiple award-winning actress and playwright, known for the red thread of politically (in)correct
