Dag Andersson and Tove Sahlin are a real-life couple and the artistic directors of Shake it Collaborations, a Swedish performance company examining body and identity politics. Features Editor James T Harding caught up with them to learn more about their show Roses & Beans at C venues this August.
In Roses and Beans we take contemporary pop culture as its starting point, providing a commentary on the omnipresent cult of love, relationships and sexuality.
Tell us about the show
Roses and Beans is a show we made in 2010 and have toured since. It's a social happening and a performance in one and you get dessert!
Roses and Beans examines how we organise and experience love, and about the model of the couple as the ultimate formula for success and happiness. We are borrowing extracts of life and art from couples like Marina and Ulay, John and Yoko, and Brad and Angelina. We invite you to a party. We will share a very special moment with you.
In Roses and Beans we take contemporary pop culture as its starting point, providing a commentary on the omnipresent cult of love, relationships and sexuality.
We love performing this piece!
Why is it important for you to get the local LGBT+ community involved?
The show deals, in a sense, with gender roles and stereotypes, cliches and preconceived notions of the roles of men and woman in society. It touches on subjects which are universally relevant but constantly present in the LGBT community.
How have LGBT+ communities from around the world responded to the show differently? How do you adapt them to different countries?
There is always a great response from the LGBT community. We don't change the show from country to country, but each night is different depending on audience reactions and interactions. That is also why it is so rewarding to perform.
What are your theatrical influences? To what extend are they queer traditions?
Our influences range from queer activists to political movements, from pop culture to the world of cinema. We'd say that those that inspire us all bend and discuss the role of gender and queer culture. If we are in a tradition is hard to say from the inside, but we comment on it and are part of it for sure.
