Harbourfront Centre’s Torque Season Closes with Norway’s winter guests and the Visceral Examination of the Human Condition in Story, story, die.

Harbourfront Centre
May 25, 2022

Interdisciplinary performance company returns to Harbourfront Centre stage as part of Nordic Bridges, exploring the relationship between lies and love  

TORONTO, ONHarbourfront Centre presents the Toronto premiere of winter guests’ evocative work, Story, story, die., as part of the contemporary dance series Torque and the year-long Nordic Bridges initiative. Choreographed by winter guests Artistic Director Alan Lucien Øyen, the full-length work will be on stage June 28 and 29, 2022 at 7:30pm at Fleck Dance Theatre. Through cinematic staging and poignant spoken word, Story, story, die. is a heartrending look at the interdependency between lies and love and the surprising things we do in our everyday lives to present a more likeable narrative of ourselves to the world.  

“We are delighted to close our 2021/22 Torque with the anticipated return of winter guests to the Toronto stage, following their performance of Simulacrum in 2019,” says Nathalie Bonjour, Director, Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre. “Renowned for his breathtaking performance aesthetic, Øyen’s Story, story, die. is a theatrical experience that both challenges our notions of love and happiness and unites us in our collective search for meaningful connection in an increasingly disconnected world.”  

Admired for its “sexiness and startlingly original highlights” (Fjord Review), Story, story, die. made its world premiere in Oslo, Norway, at Dansens Hus – the country’s prestigious national dance stage – in May 2019. The work is an in-depth exploration of humanity’s relentless search for approval from our peers, exacerbated by the all-consuming role of social media. A commentary on a fast and fading “conditional” love, dependent on success and happiness, the work’s choreography and script was developed in collaboration with its performers. Story, story, die. incorporates their lived experiences as an authentic expression of our current human condition.  

Considered one of Norway’s most pioneering artists, writer, director and choreographer, Øyen, has created more than 40 projects and commissions since 2004. In 2006, Øyen founded winter guests to develop a range of interdisciplinary works, including plays, contemporary dance works and hybrid performances, mixing dance with text and movement with actors. Inspired by interactions with strangers, personal anecdotes and pop culture references, each work is produced in collaboration with its performers.   

Presenting their avant-garde theatre and dance in independent venues and opera houses, winter guests have toured over 20 countries. Performances and residencies include The Watermill Centre, New York Theatre Workshop, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Banff Centre for the Arts, Shizuoka Performing Arts Center, and the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Harbourfront Centre, among others.  

For tickets and further information, visit: harbourfrontcentre.com  

About Nordic Bridges   

A year-long national initiative led by Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Nordic Bridges fosters cultural exchange between the Nordic Region and Canada and is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Working with partners across Canada, Nordic Bridges will present contemporary art, culture and ideas throughout 2022. NordicBridges.ca.  

About Harbourfront Centre (harbourfrontcentre.com)  

Harbourfront Centre is a leading international centre for contemporary arts, culture and ideas, and a registered, charitable not-for-profit cultural organization operating a 10-acre campus on Toronto’s central waterfront. Harbourfront Centre provides year-round programming 52 weeks a year, seven days a week, supporting a wide range of artists and communities. We inspire audiences and visitors with a breadth of bold, ambitious and engaging experiences. We champion contemporary Canadian artists throughout their careers, presenting them alongside international artists and fostering national and international artistic exchange between disciplines and cultures.  

LISTING INFORMATION Harbourfront Centre presents winter guests’  

Story, story, die. 

Dates: June 28 and 29, 2022 at 7:30pm  

Price:   Suggested $20-$95, Pay What You Wish 

Address: Fleck Dance Theatre 

Queen’s Quay Terminal, 3rd Floor 

207 Queens Quay West 

Ticket Link: harbourfrontcentre.com 

Website: harbourfrontcentre.com