Svalbard Company
All Genius all Idiot
Svalbard Company
All Genius all Idiot
“There is a fine line between the genius and the idiot, similar to the conflict within ourselves: the battle between the instinct and the intellect. The idiot is often equated with stupidity and the instinct with the animalistic. On the other side the genius is often regarded as human and equated with intellectuality. What makes us a genius and what makes us an idiot?”
Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival, Stora Teatern and Göteborgs Kulturkalas proudly presents Svalbard Companys´ All Genius All Idiot.
Vivid and outrageous in equal measure All Genius All Idiot revels in the absurdities of life, using extreme circus artistry to highlight human behavior at its most animalistic. Svalbard bends the edges of contemporary circus and blends it with theatre, dance and live music to create a truly original piece that you will remember for its surreal quality as well as its awe inspiring skills and realness.
All Genius All Idiot features Chinese pole, aerial rope, hand balance and acrobatics, driven by a hauntingly beautiful and at times bizarre original soundtrack, played live by the performers.
We will be all singing all dancing all flying all crying all rocking all genius all idiots!
About Svalbard Company
Svalbard Company is a circus company that believes in multidisciplinary art and is composed of 4 young international performers (Ben Smith – UK, John Simon Wiborn – Sweden now replaced by Alexis Akrovatakis – Greece, Tom Brand – Germany, Santiago Ruiz – Spain), currently based in Stockholm.
They trained at various preparatory circus schools before graduating from DOCH in 2014. The team has a multitude of high level skills in various circus disciplines such as vertical rope, Chinese pole, handstands, hand to hand, banquine, clowning, acrobatics and movement/dance.
All Genius All Idiot premiered at Jatka 78 Prague in 2016 and was awarded ”best circus and physical theatre” at the Adelaide Fringe weekly awards in 2016. The show has been touring the world in dance, circus & theatre festivals, alongside traditional theatres and fringe venues with over 100 performances to date, in 20 countries and across 4 continents to hugely success.
Performers: Benjamin Smith, Alexis Akrovatakis, Tom Brand, Santiago Ruiz Albalate
Authors: Benjamin Smith, John Simon Wiborn, Tom Brand, Santiago Ruiz Albalate
Artistic collaboration with: Peter Jasko
Scenography: Kasper Svenstrup Hansen
Light design: Zuzana Rezna
Light and sound technician: Ernesto Monza
Exterior eye: Methinee Wongtrakoon
Exterior eye/Acrobatic coach: Bahoz Temaux
Musical exterior eye: Mae Karthäuser
Costume: Michiel Tange van Leeuwen
Producer: Thea Hope
Supported by: Konstnärsnämnden, Kulturrådet, Arts Council England, Glastonbury Arts Commission, Stockholms Stad, Subtopia, Cirk la Putyka, Cirkör LAB & Jacksons Lane