Antigone at Akerselva

Elvelangs i Fakkellys

Concept, scenography & costumes Peny Spanou

Concept, sound & performing Anu Laiho

Costume team Despina Willson, Ilektra Valourdou

Photos Theo Kanakopoulos

Year 2022

Dance artist Anu Laiho and costume designer/architect Peny Spanou presented a work-in-progress performance of their research on Antigone at Akerselva.

We invited the public to pass by the spirit of Antigone choosing defiance in order to fulfill her destiny and committing to her fate in death – transforming Akerselva into the rivers to the underworld carrying Antigone to her final rest in bittersweet triumph and allowing her to be reborn.

Antigone’s feminist heroism - a woman fighting for what is right, Akerselva’s history with female factory workers, and graffiti meet under the Vøyenbrua bridge during the outdoor event Elvelangs i Fakkelys.

The project is funded by Norsk Scenografer i Creo. It is part of a series of performances and research by Anu Laiho and Peny Spanou about the character of Antigone from Greek mythology in Norwegian landscapes, starting in 2020.