PETRA (2014)
As interest turns into passion or even obsession, we follow Dame Petra Sveinsdóttir through her life-time journey of stone collecting which resulted in the largest privately owned mineral collection in the world. When asked if she thought her stone collecting would upset the Icelandic elf community, she replied: “I think they know that a lot of the stones disappear into the earth and are never to be seen by anybody if they are not saved.”
Inspired by his great-grandmother, theater maker Pétur Ármannsson, follows the vision of bringing artifacts to the surface so they won’t be lost in time. Pétur goes through memories, stories and collected images from his family and is faced with the question; “Was I a good grandson?
“A uniquely well composed show, emotional without being corny and necessary to see.”
“Petra is perhaps the biggest surprise of the [Tampere] theatre festival performances I saw, it manages to wrap home-madeness, Icelandic fairy-tale tradition, and the magic of theater in to a unique entity.”
“…In their willingness to explore aspects of their real lives and relationships on stage, to poke fun at themselves and dissect the mechanism of storytelling, Pétur and Brogan continue to bring something fresh to the local performance landscape”
Concept and creation: Brogan Davison and Pétur Ármannsson
Performers: Brogan Davison, Kolbeinn Arnbjörnsson, Hjalti Jón Sverrisson and Pétur Ármannsson
Dramaturge: Björn Leó Brynjarsson
Scenography: Brynja Björnsdóttir
Duration: 75 minutes
Language: English and Icelandic (With English subtitles)
Supported by: Menningarráð Austurlands
Residency: Tjarnarbíó Theatre (IS)
Co-production: Lókal Performance Festival (IS).
Petra has been to:
Tampere Theatre Festival, Finland.
Tjarnarbíó, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Lókal Performance Festival, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Sláturhúsið, Egillsstaðir, Iceland.
Grunnskólinn, Stöðvarfirði, Iceland.
Félagslundur, Reyðarfjörður, Iceland.
Mikligarður, Vopnafjörður, Iceland.
Herðubreið, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland.
Mengi, Reykjavík, Iceland.