U-DUB – Øvelser i kunsten å overleve unntakstilstanden

"But no one had the courage to stand before him. No one except Judas Iscariot." The Gospel of Judas

In U-DUB, a state of emergency reigns and normal rules and laws are suspended. How can people justify their choices in a situation where norms are no longer valid?

The production deals with Judas' dilemma from the mythical Gospel of Judas, found by an Egyptian shepherd in the 1970s. As a kind of counterpart, or "dubbed" B-side to director and playwright Tore Vagn Lid's extensive mourning play "The Gospel of Judas" (presented at Ultima /DNO 2013), the performance sticks to the story of Judas, but concentrates on the basic motivation itself - Judas' killing political dilemma where Judas makes the ultimate sacrifice so that something else - something considered greater - can happen.

"And they all said, we have the strength! But no one had courage enough, no one except Judas Iscariot" From the Gospel of Judas.

We see the "Gospel of Judas" Judas as the one who makes the ultimate sacrifice so that something else, something considered greater, can happen. The rest of us would also like to "get things done", but we are rarely willing to take personal responsibility for what needs to be sacrificed, and are therefore constantly looking for substitutes. Many people want to get rid of a violent regime, but few would do so if they themselves had to be responsible for the assassinations that ultimately brought down the regime.

When we call for an executioner, someone who can carry out the most difficult actions, whether it's turning off a ventilator or shooting down a hijacked airliner before it crashes in a city, aren't we strictly speaking calling for a Judas Iscariot?"

In 2017, U-DUB was nominated for the Hedda Award for Best Performance for Youth.

The performance is organized with English subtitles