The Greenland Sura

There are at least fifty words for "snow" in Greenland. In the melting pot outside the subway and the Deli de Luca, there is a swarm of voices – a place in the little country of Norway where you can meet the whole world. Here you wander around uneasy, the same thoughts spinning around in your mind. You try to pull the hood over your head and play a song. Not to think about it anymore. But it is already in motion.

The Greenland Sūtra is written by the writer and slam poet Fredrik Høyer, who also performs it. The piece is adapted for the stage by Mattis Herman Nyquist, making his directorial debut. The monologue is based on the collection of poetry by the same name, published as book and vinyl record under the literary concept Ferdigsnakka.

In The Greenland Sūtra the topic is recycling: the main character's worries and anxiety for the state of the world is something that comes and goes, like in a loop. It is about how we hear and talk about the same things, again and again. Is it even possible to break out of negative spirals, vicious circles, the pattern of everyday life? Is it possible to connect all the loose words and thoughts, the fragmentary and the broken, and create new meaning in chaos? And what is action, and what is just talk?

Written and performed by Fredrik Høyer. Based on the collection of poetry Grønlandsūtraen, published by Fanfare forlag as part of the project Ferdigsnakka.