Entertainment Island

Entertainment Island - The Trilogy

Drilling through the vast world of entertainment and popular culture, from the shiny surface to the murky and private regions underneath, Entertainment Island is moving from the grand entertainment industry through local and to private entertainment, exploring entertainment and popular culture.

Performed and devised by: Timo Fredriksson, Anna Krzystek, Annika Tudeer
Lights: Meri Ekola
Sound: Juuso Voltti
Photography: Eija Mäkivuoti
Co-production: Kiasma Theatre, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (FIN)

Support: CCA Centre for Contemporary Art (UK), PACT Zollverein (GER,) Produforum, Svenska Kulturfonden, Arts Council Finland, Arts Council Helsinki, KKNord, Nordic Cultural Fund, Alfred Kordelin Fund, AVEK, Arbetets Vänner, Sparbanksstiftelsen. 



lainaus The meticulous physicality and unstinting humour of this superb Finnish company are a tremendous vehicle for communicating complex issues and profound observations on popular culture.

Mary Brennan, the Herald 2011
lainaus Over the three years Oblivia has worked on the trilogy Entertainment Island, they have developed a unique performance language between minimalism and step dance, composition and comedy. A true discovery is hidden in Helsinki, but luckily it will tour in Europe in 2011.

Esther Boldt, Nachtkritik 22.12.2010 | http://nachtkritik.de





Entertainment Island 1 an energetic take on the structures of the entertainment industry. An array of gestures, movements and sounds emanating from the entertainment industry are presented in this energetic performance unveiling the mechanisms of popular culture.

We spent weeks doing funny walks and telling bad jokes while pulling out false limbs and making funny faces. We were stuck and not the least funny. We had to face what we knew from the start: we are not entertainers. Entertainment Island 1 premiered in October 2008 during the /theatre.now festival at Kiasma Theatre.



lainaus Entertainment Island 1 is a very suggestive performance. Apart from the physicality, the performance evolves into metaphysical and philosophical dimensions.

Elisabeth Nordgren, Hufvudstadsbladet 2008

Entertainment Island 2 a hilarious performance on lifestyle, news and soap operas, where local culture meets global.

The constant bombardment of moving images juxtaposed with passivity of mind uncovered a new approach. We embodied the fuzzy quality of bad television. A series of commercial breaks, wild west, super heroes, shoot outs, feel good, seedy bars and corrupt affairs rushes past, leaving all but a trail of pulp. Entertainment Island 2 premiered in November 2009 during the Baltic Circle festival at Kiasma Theatre.



lainaus Performance company Oblivia gives a fantastic, unpretentious performance where consumer hysterics are scrutinised. Over the hour long performance the trio Fredriksson, Krzystek & Tudeer are constantly moving. - - But as the movements are growing, the text is transformed into a multifaceted scrutiny of today’s life-style hysterics. - - The company’s main weapon is liberating humour that is manifested in the clever text.

Isabella Rothberg, Hufvudstadsbladet, November 2009


Entertainment Island 3 shows the dark side of popular culture through a look at private entertainment in a minimalist manner characteristic for Oblivia.

There we were, locked in a dark rehearsal room wondering what would be the next approach in our exploration of entertainment. We found ourselves submerged in the darkest recesses of a warped imagination. The notion of private entertainment led to an excursion into the world of voyeur. Entertainment Island 3 premiered during the Baltic Circle festival.



lainaus They wear everyday clothes that stay on for the whole performance, they remain cool and smiling and nobody runs into the auditorium with a chainsaw. The company has created an exciting concept, where the outer form is colliding with the theme.

Martti Mäkelä, Skenet, November 2010


Entertainment Island is also

Film / Time Passes In a vast landscape two characters are digging holes in the ground. They argue about shovels and the structure of the holes. They take breaks and look out. The silent film combines silent slapstick with long shots of stillness. Time Passes looks at entertainment from an existentialist perspective.

Exhibition / The Entertainment Island photo series by Eija Mäkivuoti (FIN) relates to different photographic genres capturing subtle yet iconic images of pop culture and entertainment.

 

Entertainment Island - The Trilogy trailer from Oblivia on Vimeo.