Fønix

Lisa Lie

Stian Westerhus

‘Life is short, but it doesn’t have to be cut even shorter. Everyone deserves a chance to rise again through an intricate mystery-mourning play.’ That is the motto of the super funeral agency FØNIX (Phoenix). And now they have a new client: a person is about to be buried and brought back from the dead. The staff set a four-part funeral ritual in motion, leading the audience into a wild and unpredictable world. 

The fatal turns festive and solemn mourning gives way to revelry when playwright, performance artist and director Lisa Lie invites audiences to a familiar ritual in an unfamiliar form. The performance is accompanied by music from guitarist and composer Stian Westerhus, drawing on both opera and funeral music traditions. 

The audience is invited to take part in the grief, the singing, the memorial gathering and the celebration. Expect communal singing, speeches, strange celestial phenomena, powerful rites, stumbling blocks, soaring choral music and thunderous sound. 

Every performance of Fønix is unique. Each evening centres on one specific person who is buried and resurrected on stage. Their life story, friends and family, forms the framework for that particular performance. 

‘Overflowing and hilarious.’ – Dagsavisen 

‘Lisa Lie’s meditation on death is one of the strangest things I have ever seen.’ – Aftenposten 

‘The music grabs hold of your heart, while the text is laugh-out-loud funny.’– Adresseavisen 

Photo: Erik Berg

Language

Performed in Norwegian

Contributors

• Lisa Lie konsept, libretto, direction

• Stian Westerhus music, arrangements

• Musicians from Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

• César Cañon conductor

• Maja Nilsen scenography, costumes

• Oscar Udbye lighting design

• Edvard Grieg Choir

• Håkon Matti Skrede chorus master

• More contributors to be announced

A collaboration between

Bergen International Festival and Bergen National Opera with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edvard Grieg Choirs, The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Trondheim Symphonic Orchestra & Opera