11 ÅR
(11 Years)

During the lunch break, twenty children scatter across the school playground. A boy rummages through a bin in search of his gym bag. A girl hurries so fast that her lunchbox falls out of her backpack. An eleven-year-old pupil is playing on the climbing frame. Shortly afterward, the playground is bathed in the light of the midday sun. Lessons follow breaks, breaks follow lessons. The girl takes her own life. After her death, everything begins to converge around a young teacher. He taught her, knew her grades, her absences. Now he meets her parents and the school administration, a system that operates according to established procedures. In his bag, he is carrying something that has gone unmentioned. A detail that hints at a possible oversight, one that can no longer be undone.
Within the microcosm of a school, »11 ÅR« unfolds a panorama of care and distance. The play by Norwegian theatre makers Goksøyr & Martens is based on conversations with parents, children, educators and lawyers. The audience on a grandstand, observing the playground from above and eavesdropping on various conversations via headphones. What does responsibility towards the younger generation mean? What do we miss when we try to look closely?  

GOKSØYR & MARTENS are the directors and authors Camilla Martens, born in 1969, and Toril Goksøyr, born in 1970. Their productions, which they have staged in galleries, museums and theatres in Norway and abroad, are based on interviews with ordinary people. They often use a bird’s-eye view to immerse the audience in three-dimensional soundscapes using headphones. Their productions »SALONG«, »OMSORG«, »FRI« and »11 ÅR were nominated for the Norwegian theatre award Heddaprisen, » DOTTERA« and »MomA« for the international Ibsen Prize.

MIT: Amund Harboe, Ragnhild Tysse Jørgensen, Svein Solenes, Georg Devendra Apenes, Bahareh Razekh Ahmadi, Oliver Wilhelmsen Kaada, Matilde T. Berge, Anna Bormann, Tobias Dalaker, Eva Danielsen, Noor Fattoumi Handeland, Noelia Stautland Husebø, Isak J. H. Kilter, Henrik Mæland Idsøe, Saga Møller-Nessa, Benita Ranjbar-Kalvik, Jens Rogde, Lucas Lindager Rolness, Marte Sirevåg Berge, Johanne Jordanson Søyland, Mio Vatnaland, Edith Victoria Ødegård Dale, Billie Østin 
SET AND COSTUME DESIGN: Anja Petkovic Karlsen, Olav Myrtvedt
SOUND DESIGN: Therese Næss Diesen, Fredrik Vogel
DRAMATURGY: Matilde Holdhus
RESEARCH: Lisa Johannson Skjelbred
LIGHTING DESIGN: Ingeborg Staxrud Olerud
ASSISTANT TO LIGHTING DESIGNER: Sander Sædberg
PRODUCER Goksøyr & Martens: Hedvig Bergem Søiland