Review 'True Story', Det Frie Felt at Bora Bora in Aarhus

Two young men tell stories in the middle of the audience's circle

Ambiorn Happy, Kulturnyt.net
25. january 2023.

In the performance 'True Story' we (the audience) sit on chairs in a circle on the dance floor, Bora Bora in Aarhus. It is half past seven in the evening. The mood is good. 28 people in a circle. Two young men, Jonathan and Satya, tell stories live - 100% true stories - but before they start, they write down the name on a piece of paper which is stuck on the floor in front of each chair. Names. "Cirkeline", "Rikke", "Naja", "Roberto" and so on all around the circle.

Without asking for it, all the spectators have become part of the story. Elegant, I think. There are 4 stars for 'True Story'.

Det Frie Felt is in Aarhus

The Free Felt Festival has arrived in Aarhus. Jonathan and Satya are part of that caravan of independent performing artists from Africa, USA, England, Finland, Germany + more countries. The festival has been hit hard in the last years by the global cold, but now it's here. You can read more about this week's performances and buy tickets (they are cheap and there are not many left) at Bora Bora in Aarhus.

Sterile theater in a safe deposit box

Most established theater is commercially based and therefore as dangerous as a Mars bar in a freezer. The theater is dipped in boiling water and then beaten with a stick to get it completely dry so it can be stored in a safe. Mainstream theater is conservative, the intention of the performance is to confirm our prejudices about the world, and the actors put a finger in our side to make us laugh and spend the money for a ticket.

Det Frie Felts Festival is something else

Det Frie Felts Festival is a celebration of independent stage artists - 'Project Fonded Independent Stage Artists'. Those people are always coming up with new ideas because they don't have a permanent job. They must seek money for each new performance. A cooperation between the nations. A new angle. New concept. More developing than winding down. More dancing and joie de vivre, - less conservative, we think.

'True Story' is such a less conservative performance.

The original art of storytelling

And yet, Jonathan and Satya - in the middle of our circle - practice the original art of storytelling, and that can be called conservative in a way. It's old school and it works. The two guys tell stories live, rehearsed and improvised. The way we humans have always told stories. We listen as the two young men disembark. We are aboard a Chinese ship in the year 1405 approaching new shores. The captain...
- Satya reaches out for one of the spectators, grabs his attention and moves the figure onto the stage which is the circle between us
...he lies down asleep in his cabin, completely naked with...
- Jonathan grabs another person in our circle,
...along with a bald man, the writer, dressed in an old jacket and big black boots.
The audience laughs - and so the wild story continues, in which the audience itself becomes a part.

Equilibristic storytellers

Jonathan and Satya switch virtuosically from one scene to the next. We are in a spaceship. We are fishermen around a lake throwing stones into the water and waiting to catch the big blue whale. We are druids around a fire and it is a full moon and we throw euphoric herbs on the flames. We are... The images change faster and faster. In the end, we realize that we are spectators to a story, we are right now part of that story, we have arrived at the end of the performance. Poof, done.

Great experience, thanks! From the USA and England, Jonathan Bonnici and Satya Bhabha. There are more performances in the coming days. Check them out at Bora Bora in Aarhus.

True Story by Jonathan Bonnici and Satya Bhabha.
Created in collaboration with Bojan Jablanovec.
Produced by Satya Bhabha, Jonathan Bonnici and Via Negativa.
Administrator Gry Raaby.
Consultant Klavs Tarp.
Translation Morten Dalhoff.
Photo Matjaž Rušt.

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