Sayonakidori — mmlab

ABOUT

uka-uka: the sound of always being slightly wrong, or not careful, irresponsible, ungrounded. Nightingale corridors helps you to be prepared, not uka uka

uwaa: the sound of the feeling that cannot be spoken, or something unexplainable

Mushi mushi – the sound of insects being forced from your body, or laughing as you vocalize an unthinkable situation, or being steamed alive. Also, very humid *

*onomatopoeia from Polly Barton's book "Fifty sounds"

Sayonakidori (from Japanese: Nightingale) is a landscape of onomatopoeia, showing how Japanese onomatopoeia (the equivalent of objects or phenomena in sound) allow sounds to be conveyed in words.

During her visits to Japan, the composer and director Agnė Matulevičiūtė visited Nijō Castle to learn about the architecture of this unique structure and its floors, which produce sounds similar to the voices of birds. The "nightingale floor" is a myth, which could be a security system to defend against intruders or simply an unintentional architectural mistake. The artist is interested in the fact that this myth is still being written down and told by someone. This duality opens up particularly broad and interesting contexts and themes for performance making. Walking on the floor of the Nightingale inspired the artist to create a work for the building, playing it like a musical instrument, playing with what is not seen but only heard and vice versa. It is a work that combines music and dance, where the performers themselves will shape the sonic fabric, using their bodies and voices.

The themes of the musical performance come from the observation of Japanese culture from a distance and its interpretation through the eyes of a European: safety, fear of the other, ghost culture, explorations of the phenomenon of the uncomfortable. The sound technology of the Nightingale Corridor used for security inspires themes of attack, defence and privacy. Security here is both an inner state and a fear of the insecurity of the world.

CREATIVE TEAM

Author, director and composer: Agnė Matulevičiūtė

Choreographer: Pawel Sakowicz (Poland)

Set and lighting designer: Julius Kuršis

Costume Designer: Elena Marija Veleckaitė

Sound director: Ignas Juzokas

Performers: Tomoo Nagai (Japan), Clara Giambino (France), Greta Grineviciute, Ugne Kavaliauskaitė, Justina Mykolaitytė, Alvydė Pikturnaitė, Laurynas Jurgelis, Gediminas Rimeika, Agnė Matulevičiūtė

Producer: Rusnė Kregždaitė

Executive Producer: Greta Senkutė

Head of communication: Rasa Kregždaitė

Poster photographer: Vismantė Ruzgaitė

Poster Designer: Sofija Laurušonytė

Technical Director: Vladislav Bajaznyj

PRODUCER

MMLAB theatre

PARTNERS

Trakų Vokės Manor, Polish Institute in Vilnius, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Japan, MiSHO Residency (Fujino, Japan), "Krantas", Lithuanian Composers' Union, EU Representation Office in Japan, Embassy of Japan in Lithuania, VAGA bookstore chain, InlanDimensions

Funded by: Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City Municipality, EU Japan fest