White as Jasmine is a performance concert with and by Iben Nagel Rasmussen, legend of the Danish Odin Teatret, which under the leadership of Eugenia Barby became a worldwide theatrical legend thanks to a comprehensive approach to working with its troupe.
White as Jasmine is a journey with the voice, through the many performances Iben Nagel Rasmussen has participated in as an actor of Odin Teatret since 1966 up until the present day. She illustrates the changes her voice has undergone, from the closed room (which allows the actors to reveal their inner world) and the street performances (the meeting with the exterior world) to the space which words create through their meanings and sounds.
The journey consists of three parts:
First part: The Inner Space
– presents fragments of music, songs and text from the space of theatre, the closed room and how Iben, through her daily work, reaches a personal expression, an inner landscape of sound, where the colour of the tones and the quality are the most important. A capability which was especially important in the first years of Odin Teatret, when the Scandinavian performance texts were not translated, or with examples of made up languages – for instance the “Russian” used in the performance “Min fars hus” (My Father’s House), when words without meaning could bring out a sense of emotion.
Second Part: The Outer Space
– with calling, hollering and singing accompanied by a drum and flute, we hear about out door performances and parades at markets, squares and passages. Activities which were developed by Odin Teatret during a longer stay in Southern Italy i 1976, and since used in all kinds of cultural events in many different countries.
Third Part: The Space, Which is Created by Word
– talks about the “re-discovered language” The words used here in Danish, Italian, Spanish and English definitely all have meanings, and are in most cases translated when performed abroad. Nevertheless one senes the depth of experience and vocal bountifulness which invigorates the words with body, presence and colour.
More information about the performance and tickets can be found here.
