Dropout

Meet 17-year-old Daniel, a school dropout. Now he's on trial and must defend his lack of action. Four authorities, each in their own field, demand to know why Daniel, who lives in the best country in the world, is unable to attend school - is he just a spoiled brat?

These characters are projected onto objects in the room that can be associated with courtrooms from the underground. We spend 25 minutes blowing the spectators' heads off. In our specially built tent, we lead the audience into total darkness.

Video and sound together create a powerful expression around Daniel, the only living character, who throughout the performance hangs by his arms from the ceiling in fear of falling into the unknown darkness.

Dropout has become a major political issue. Only 70 percent of those who start upper secondary school complete it after five years. The situation is worst in vocational subjects. According to Statistics Norway, 44% of those who started vocational school in 2005 still have no formal qualifications. In some subjects, only 30-40% complete their studies. Those most at risk of dropping out are boys, minority language speakers, school dropouts and children of poorly educated parents, according to a review by Sabine Wollscheid at the Nova research institute. Taken from the article by Simen Sætre, Morgenbladet July 8, 2011

Initiator and financial contributor: Oppland Fylkeskommune Supported by: Spenn.no, Arts Council Norway and Fritt Ord