About the show

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In OMÂ (a combination of Oma, the German word for grandma, and Mâdarjun, the Farsi affectionate term for grandmother), the German Iranian circus artist Roxana Küwen Arsalan reimagines a dialogue with her two grandmothers.

 

They have never met in person, but now their granddaughter brings them together for a circus teatime performance full of poetry and humor. Juggling teapots, languages, and questions of privilege, OMÂ tosses the happenchance of our origins up into the air.

 

The personal is political in this multi-layered exploration of juggling artist Roxana Küwen Arsalan’s Iranian and East Frisian roots. At once searching and thought-provoking, touching and ironic, this solo playfully turns stereotypes and assumptions upside down.

 

Through (foot) juggling, object manipulation, dance, and language(s), a multitude of characters, atmospheres, and narrative threads gently unfold.

OMÂ is a subtle auto-fiction, imbued with current issues of our world, taking place in the here and now, and shaped by presence of each audience member.​​

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Technic(s)

Foot juggling, contorsion, object manipulation, theatrical play​

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About the company

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Compagnie Bolbol was founded in 2020 by Roxana Küwen Arsalan. Bolbol means nightingale in Farsi, but is also a common expression for someone who is very talkative: a chatterbird.

 

Roxana has been a circus performer for 15 years, performing internationally in various contexts both with short acts and full length shows, such as Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, Cirque Bouffon, Festival Chalons dans la rue, Festival d‘Alba, International Storytelling Festival Austria, Palazzo Varieté, Tête à Tête Festival, Ruhrfestspiele...

 

Contributors

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Concept/idea, artistic direction:

Maja Zimmerlin & Umberto Freddi

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Choreography:
Maja Zimmerlin​

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Dramaturgy:
Maja Zimmerlin

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Artists:

Kritonas Anastasopoulos, Leon Börgens, Branca Scheidegger, Joshua Frazer, Aurore Allo

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Light design:

Umberto Freddi​

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Music:
Elisa Arciniegas Pinilla

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Zirkus ON mentor:

Lena Ries

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Funders/Sponsors

 

• La Maison des Jonglages Scène conventionnée La Courneuve FR

• Carré Magique Lannion - Pôle national cirque en Bretagne FR

• La Grainerie - Pôle européen de production et Scène conventionné d'intérêt national Balma FR

• La Verrerie d‘Alès Pôle national cirque Occitanie FR

• Kreationsbündnis Zirkus ON

• Centre Culturel du Brabant Wallon BE Espace Périphérique La Villette Paris FR

• Carré Magique Lannion FR La Cascade Pôle national cirque Ardèche Auvergne Rhône Alpes FR

• Station Circus Basel CH

• Tollhaus Karlsruhe

• Kulturzentrum DasHaus Ludwigshafen

• Centre Culturel du Brabant Wallon BE

• Centre Culturel Soupetard Toulouse FR

• Chamäleon Theater Berlin Studio PACT

• La Grainerie, FOCON Esacto'Lido 2020/21

• Kreationsbündnis Zirkus ON 2022/23