Agit-Cirk: RapuRequiem

A dystopian journey towards a lost culture. RapuRequiem (‘Crab Requiem’) is a performance that combines spoken theatre and contemporary circus.

This absurd, poetic and physical work delves into an analysis of the modern world and modern humanity through dystopian sci-fi. What if almost everything were to be destroyed, and the remaining Western cultural history were to depend on a single mobile phone and a group of performance artists suffering from a memory disorder?

The artists who survived the disaster can only recall fragments of the time before the collapse. One of these is the pervasive influence of social media; another is the fanatical and absurd torrent of rhetoric spouted by increasingly deranged leaders; and the third is people’s indifference to the increasing ecological and human devastation. On the one hand, the private and collective memories are characterised by material abundance and, on the other hand, by gnawing loneliness, increasing inequality, a lack of global solidarity and the fear of nuclear weapons.

The group’s grand mission is to preserve what little remains of the history of Finnish art. Their destination is the much-rumoured paradise in the north, where the air is still tolerably cool and there is enough food to go around. There, they could revive Finnish culture, even though their collective amnesia poses challenges to their sacred quest.

Production: Agit-Cirk and Kanneltalo

Performers: Jenni Lehtinen, Youssef Alkhatib, Ulla Raitio, Sasu Peistola

Script and direction: Jussi Moila

Lighting design: June Horton-White

Sound design: Petteri Rajanti

Costume design: Kaisa Kemikoski

Photos: Johanna Julia Portraits

Original concept and design: Sasu Peistola, Jenni Lehtinen, Ulla Raitio, Jari Virman, Henry Hanikka, Juha Tuisku

Supporters: The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Cirko – Centre for New Circus, Sirkussali