The independent theatre company Teater Vølven was formed in 2018 as a Nordic collaboration between one Danish and two Swedish actors, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aim of the company is to work artistically with issues of feminist interest, and to question and shaken the patriarchal structures of modern society.
All members of the company have been educated in physical theatre (mask play, storytelling, clown, buffoon, commedia dell’arte, corporal mime, devising etc.) at the international physical theatre school The Commedia School. Apart from this training, the actors of Teater Vølven have experience in various areas such as drama pedagogy, hospital clowning and visual arts.
The company believes that less is more, and aims to create meaningful imagery without the use of much scenography and props. This approach allows the company to travel easily and adapt their plays to a variety of smaller and bigger venues around the globe.
The works of Teater Vølven are rooted in feminist theory, physical theatre, clowning, buffoon and serious investigation of the themes they are working with. They create socially relevant and rebellious theater performances which gives the audience an opportunity to gain new insights about themselves and others, and to question established and – most likely – outdated norms and codes of social conduct. They perceive the structure of modern society as patriarchal, and feminism as the ideological tool with which they can fight for equality for all different genders.
When creating new material, the company benefits from the gathered pool of experience within the group, as well as improvisation and other techniques, which enables a fresh and sparkly approach to the making of socially relevant, humorous, as well as thoughtful, high-quality artwork.
The name Vølven stem from the Nordic word ‘vølve’ which was used to designate a female spiritual leader in the Nordic mythology and religion before the appearance of Christianity.
A ‘vølve’ would perform shamanistic rituals and magic, were well-respected and had a high status in the Old Norse society. With the change to Christian beliefs their practices were criminalized and they were banished from society as witches.
‘Vølven’ as a specific character appears as an oracle in one of the central texts from the Nordic mythology, where Odin, the king of the Nordic gods, seeks her advice. She narrates the story of the creation of the world, and the appearance of the first human beings. As Odin’s wish was to know the course of the future, she tells her vision of ‘Ragnarok’, the great destruction that will end the world, and the subsequent resurrection of the world after that. ‘Vølven’ is in this text more powerful and wise than even the king of gods, which reflects the general status of a ‘vølve’ in the Old Norse society.
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