Vagina Monologue: An Original Theatre Play by Feminist Storytelling
Not to be confused with “The Vagina Monologues**” but inspired by its conversations, “Vagina Monologue” is an original theatre play written and performed by Feminist Storytelling. It is a communal theatre and storytelling platform based in Bergen, Norway.
About the play
What does our body tell us about our boundaries, desires, and identity?
A woman gives birth, and a true story unfolds.
One by one, seven protagonists recount their pregnancies, spaceship battles, baptism and heritage.
Interconnected, their personal stories are beautifully woven into one giant tapestry of the protagonists’ experiences.
Vagina Monologue lifts the veil on what usually remains unsaid. In this space, the word “cunt” is no curse, but a source of strength and power, a creator of worlds.”
Drastic Social went to VM’s rehearsal last weekend to get a feel of the creation. While we get a glimpse of the production setup, each storyteller’s personal dialogue is still under development and at the formation stage. It is definitely a good challenge for the members of Feminist Storytelling to leap from the usual setting of a small group and social sharing at the library to a structured play at the auditorium at Litteraturhuset.
We look forward to this weekend’s premiere.
Event Information on Facebook, and you can get your Tickets here.
Date: 28 & 29 April 2023
Time: Friday 18.30-21.00 Saturday 14.00-16.30
Place: Litteraturhuset i Bergen (Østre Skostredet 5-7 5017 Bergen, Norway)
Photos are taken during rehearsal.
Production Posters by Graphic Designer and illustrator — Yifeng Zheng
Drastic Social Showcase — Merenpelko, Feminist Storytelling, Juan Qin, Jennifer Tang and Erwin Rapid Navarro Drastic Social Showcase presents a community party with our friends in Bergen on the 3rd of December. The Bars at…
Feminist Storytelling is a community theatre and storytelling platform based in Bergen, Norway. The organisation is in cooperation with Litteraturhuset i Bergen, and their events are curated by different volunteers, artists and storytellers monthly.…
Drastic Social X Clothing Swap Bergen — “Masculine Wear and Plus Size Edition”
Clothing Swap Bergen (CSB) is an organisation promoting slow fashion in Bergen; they run a community clothes swap monthly, mostly at Bergen Kjøtt Fabrikhallen hall, plus ad-hoc events like this time with Drastic Social.
Listento our talk about the Swap happening on the 26th of March — Drastic Social Radio: Clothing Swap Bergen.
On 26th March 2023, CSB is collaborating with Drastic Social for a Masculine Wear and Plus Size edition to cater to the community who aren’t straight size or not too into their usual crowd-pleasing floral and frills.
When: March 26th, 11.00-16.00 Where: Bergen Kjøtt (Skutevikstorget 1) Tickets: Kr 50-100 (at the door)
To have a sneak peek at what will be at the swap, follow @DrasticSocial on Instagram. There will be new information weekly leading up to the event day!
Below is the information from Clothing Swap Bergen to explain their A-Z to joining a clothes swap (Norsk nederst | Norwegian text below)
Welcome to Bergen’s biggest clothing swap event! We believe sustainable fashion is for everyone, including those who wear plus size clothing (XL and up) or what is typically considered/sold as “men’s wear”. However, we have noticed that these items can be harder to find on the second-hand market and our previous events. This is why we have decided to team up with Drastic Social and organize an event completely dedicated to swapping MASCULINE and PLUS SIZE CLOTHING ONLY!
This means we will not be taking in/putting out women’s clothes below size XL at this event. Like always, we will serve coffee, tea and vegan/gluten-free pastries in the cafe area. There will also be a repair workshop where you can drop in to find help and materials to repair, upcycle or alter any clothes you brought from home or found at the event.
Note: Bergen Kjøtt is renovating its elevator, so there will be no accessibility for wheelchairs at this event. We are truly sorry for any inconvenience and hope to welcome everybody at the next occasion.
How does it work?
Dive into your closet and collect a max. of 10 clothing items. For this special event, all items you bring must fit the description of ‘masculine’, ‘plus size’ (XL or up), or both. You are also welcome to bring purses/bags, shoes and jewellery. At the swap, you receive points for each item, depending on its type and quality. Take your time to look through our well-stocked racks for items you like, and pay for them with the points you received. The clothes you brought will be made available for newly arriving swappers, and you’ll get to leave with a newly swapped outfit! As we have our own stock, clothes are available immediately. Note: Bring your old point card to use any points received at previous events!
Repair cafe Repair your own clothes at the repair cafe. Our experienced volunteers will help you make small repairs, like attaching a button, closing a hole, or replacing a zipper. You can also alter the clothes you found at the swap or work with the rag materials we have collected. The workshop is included in the entrance fee. The amount of repairs you can do depends on how busy it will be.
Bergen Kjøtt is an old factory and is working to facilitate better access roads. There’s an entrance at street level, with accessibility for service dogs. There are toilet facilities for all genders and that are wheelchair accessible. Escorts have free admission but must register in advance. Unfortunately, the elevator is being renovated during this event, which makes the swap itself not accessible for guests that depend on elevators. For more information check www.bergenkjott.org/kontakt.
/// WELCOME
Bergen Kjøtt actively supports an anti-racist, inclusive environment for all genders, backgrounds and functional abilities, which does not tolerate any form of harassment or discrimination.
——————————————————————–
NORSK:
Velkommen til Bergen’s største klesbytte arrangement! Vi mener bærekraftig mote er for alle, også for de som bruker større størrelser (XL og oppover) eller det som typisk anses/selges som herreklær. På bruktmarkedet samt våre tidligere arrangementer har vi imidlertid lagt merke til at disse klærne kan være litt vanskeligere å finne. Dette er grunnen til at vi bestemte oss for å slå oss sammen med Drastic Social og organisere et arrangement spesielt dedikert til å bytte KUN MASKULINE og PLUS SIZE KLÆR! Dette betyr at vi ikke kommer til å ta inn/legge ut dameklær under størrelse XL på dette arrangementet. Som alltid skal vi servere kaffe, te og vegansk/glutenfri bakst i kaféområdet. I tillegg skal vi ha et reparasjonsverksted hvor du kan stikke innom for å reparere, ombruke eller endre klær du tok med deg eller fant på arrangementet.
OBS! Bergen Kjøtt renoverer sin heis, som betyr at det ikke er tilgang til Fabrikkhallen der arrangementet finner sted for de som er avhengig av heisen. De det gjelder får gratis tilgang til reparasjonskafeen i første etasje.
Dykk ned i skapet og samler maks. 10 klesplagg. Til dette arrangementet må alle klesplagg du tar med passe til beskrivelsen av “maskuline”, “plus size” (XL eller oppover), eller begge deler. Du kan også ta med sko, vesker eller smykker. Ta deg deretter tid til å se gjennom de velfylte stativene våre for å finne noe fint og betal for det med poengene du mottok. Klærne du leverte vil bli gjort tilgjengelig for nyankomne byttere, og du drar hjemme med det nye antrekket ditt! Ettersom vi har eget lager, vil det være klær tilgjengelig helt fra starten. Obs: Du kan bruke poeng du mottok ved tidligere arrangement.
Reparasjonskafé
Reparer dine egne klærne i reparasjonskafeen. Våre erfarne frivillige hjelper dere med å gjøre små reparasjoner, som å feste en knapp, tette et hull eller bytte ut en glidelås. Du kan også skreddersy klær du fant på byttet. Verkstedet er inkludert i billettpris. Hvor mange reparasjoner du kan gjøre avhenger av hvor travelt det vil være.
Bergen Kjøtt er en gammel fabrikk og vi jobber med å legge til rette for bedre tilkomstveier. Vi har tilkomst fra gatenivå, tar imot servicehunder og har toalettfasiliteter tilgjengelig for alle kjønn og tilrettelagt for rullestolbrukere. Ledsagere har gratis adgang, men må registrere seg i forkant av arrangementet. Dessverre blir heisen renovert da arrangementet finner sted, som gjør at den er ikke tilgjengelig til de som er avhengig av heisen.
/// VELKOMMEN Bergen Kjøtt støtter aktivt opp om et antirasistisk, inkluderende miljø for alle kjønn, bakgrunner og funksjonsevner, som ikke tolererer noen form for trakassering eller diskriminering.
Clothing Swap Bergen (CSB) organises large-scale swapping events, repair cafes and upcycling workshops. CSB believes that sustainable alternatives to fast fashion are for everyone and help you share and take care of the clothes you already own.
Drastic Social Showcase — Merenpelko, Feminist Storytelling, Juan Qin, Jennifer Tang and Erwin Rapid Navarro
Drastic Social Showcase presents a community party with our friends in Bergen on the 3rd of December. The Bars at the venue are open and Dumplings are served ❤
1830 Doors open (ground floor cafe) 1900 Fabrikkhallen open 1905 Intro by Bertha Chan 1910 “Accountability” — Erwin Rapiz Navarro of Skeiv Verden Vest -“Transformative Justice in Community Building” 1955 “Community builder Series” — Yimin Dong of Feminist Storytelling 2040 “Creator Series” — Juan Qin 2120 “Joy” — Merenpelko performance
We are grateful to be amongst supportive community members who are making this happen, and a special thanks to Bergen Kommune for funding a part of this programme
Venue
Bergen Kjøtt
Bergen Kjøtt is a creative workplace, production house and cultural centre in the neighbourhood of Skuteviken and Sandviken in Bergen.
Dalig Leder Eva Rowson (she/her) of Bergen Kjøtt has supported Drastic Social’s development since day one, provided many opportunities for us to develop our skills and experience in live streaming, and generously lent us their venue for this event.
Vers Libre is the go-to community radio in Bergen, Norway. DJs, sound artists, and talk show enthusiasts are encouraged to develop their music/programme curation using their facilities for their members at their studio in Møhlenpris. The facility is only a 10 min walk from the city centre through the scenic park Nygardsparken.
Drastic Social will be publishing their podcast series on VersLib.re
Fraser Keddie (he/him) is the founder of Vers Libre. He is our mentor at Drastic Social Production Team, supporting us in honing skills in live stream production and radio recording work.
Hong Kong Photographer Jennifer Tang‘s photo series “Feed me” is a project made with our community of artists and creatives. Recently debuted at Soho House Hong Kong, this experimental portrait series is brought to you in Bergen for one night only. Seize the chance to see these photos exhibited during the day of the Drastic Social event at Bergen Kjøtt ground floor.
“Feed me 食•相 is a love letter to my chubby, food obsessed childhood. Sunday dinner at grandma’s was our family’s ritual; whenever she made my favourite dishes, my face would light up at the dinner table.
“The sweetest smile on your face when you eat!” she always said.
The indulger then became the voyager; I still love food but realized cooking and watching others enjoy it was the greater pleasure. The natural next step was to photograph my friends stuffing their faces and making a mess. Capturing this joy and expression on someone’s face is undeniably cathartic to me.”
Speaker — Erwin Rapiz Navarro (he/him), Skeiv Verden Vest
Erwin Rapiz Navarro is originally from the Philippines and works as the manager of Skeiv Verden Vest in Bergen, Norway. Erwin has a background in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Tromsø and has been working closely with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees since 2015.
Erwin will speak with Bertha Chan about “Transformative Justice in Community Building”, mainly so we can learn to spot conflicts, take accountability and reduce harm within our community.
Speaker – Yimin Dong (they/them) of Feminist Storytelling
Feminist Storytelling is a community theatre and storytelling platform based in Bergen, Norway. Their events are curated by different volunteers, artists and storytellers monthly, cooperating with Litteraturhuset i Bergen (House of Literature in Bergen).
Founder Yimin Dong will talk to Drastic Social’s Bertha Chan about their path of building a community where participants feel at ease to share their personal stories in an intimate set up.
Speaker — Juan Qin(she/her)
Juan Qin is a visual communication designer and multimedia artist. With a particular interest in exploring the intersections, connections and cross-disciplinary relations among visual communication design, graphic design, creative coding, programming, interactive design, social media and individuals’ subtle emotional expression. She will be speaking with Bertha Chan during the event about her path to finding her identity through art and creations.
Performance
Merenpelko is a performative musical installation sent to this dimension by Xzyx Cronh to bring emotional music and glimpses into a better, interdimensional world.
“We intend to bring people into a transcendental realm through our sonic spells.”
Merenpelko is Rude Pixie, Ghostcry and MC Lab Rat.
“Silly Little Mermaid” was out in Oct 2022 & Check out their live-streamed rehearsal for the 3rd Dec performance on youtube…
Essia Hidoussi (she/her) is currently working as a producer for Diversity and Inclusion at Bergen Kunsthall. Essia has years of experience as a freelance producer, event manager and volunteer coordinator for several art and culture festivals in Bergen.
“Ekko is an annual festival for electronic and experimental music and sound art. The festival features a tightly curated international and local programme with concerts, DJ sets, commission works, art, talks, screenings and multidisciplinary acts.”
This year, EKKO Festival is held from 2-6 November in Bergen, Norway, around the city at four venues,
USF Verftet — USF Verftet is a former sardine factory building accommodating five venues for the presentation of music, theatre, films and contemporary art, and several artist studios and offices.
Østre — Østre is the staple venue for Bergen’s electronic and experimental underground scene. Expect a weekend of an immersive programme with sound and dance across their 3-floor venue in the city’s heart.
Slettebakken Church — Slettebakken Church is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Apart from a place for religious folks to worship, arts and cultural organisations occasionally hire the venue for art performances. The architecture of the building resembles an ark vertically logged towards the sky, standing out in the small neighbourhood by the side of a lake.
Banzha – A hip restaurant in the centre of Bergen serving a posh vibe with Yunnan Province Chinese Cuisine. Collaborating with EKKO this year on 3 Nov for a night of Music by Al Skua and Trym Arneson Søvdsnes and Food Tasting.
Drastic Social is ecstatic to co-host the third edition of a club night series “Editing room” by Konsept X, an intersectional femme-centric DJ collective in Bergen, Norway, on 1 Oct 2022 alongside with Asterisk — a Bergen-based queer club night platform and older sibling to the just as cheeky ASTERISK FILMKLUBB, international experimental queer film festival.
Konsept X club night series “Editing room” has previously held two events at Landmark Bergen at Bergen Kunsthall, collaborating with various DJs, VJs and artists to establish its niche from the intersection between film, image and music.
Asterisk celebrates our talented local and international queer artists and performers, it is an alternative event production project to create safer spaces for queer and transgender people within institutions and public spaces to showcase interdisciplinary artistic work, such as happenings, performance, sound, and visual art and films and everything in between.
Konsept X, ASTERISK FILMKLUBB and Drastic Social invite you to the third edition of Editing Room – a series of club nights dedicated to playing with the intersection between film, image and music.
This time we focus on queer experiences and draw inspiration from the short film Herman@s (SiblingX) by H. Alix, selected by ASTERISK FILMKLUBB.
Starting from an introductory talk to film screening and carrying into the night, our queer-centric club space.
Schedule of the event: 21:30 The event starts off with DJ Joy welcoming you to Konsept X — Editing Room Vol.3
22:00 Follow with an introductory talk, “Creating our reality through art and community”, led by Bertha Chan (Drastic Social), where the people who have joined forces for this event will introduce themselves and share perspectives on their project and community building.
22:30 We will screen Herman@s (SiblingX) by H. Alix, selected by ASTERISK FILMKLUBB. before transitioning into a night of dancing, flirting, and fun with pipi sauvage, Tora G, Brita°UT, Superslut & fxggxt to the climax.
KONSEPT X + ASTERISK FILMKLUBB + DRASTIC SOCIAL presents: Editing Room vol. 3 Date: 1 OCT 2022 Time: 21:30 till late Location: Landmark at Bergen Kunsthall CC: 100 kr
Sjå magazine is a photo and art magazine, rooted in analog photography, and explores a given theme with the help of photography and text, published twice a year by Mørkerommet photo collective. Mørkerommet photo collective is a student organization in Bergen that practices analog photography and development in darkrooms, in addition to holding exhibitions, publishing pictures in various magazines and documenting images at events.
Social distancing in the city of Bergen had loosened up, small scale meetup and events are allowed to be held. Drastic Social visited Sjå magazine’s launch this month in Bergen where their Issue #3: Senses is published.
It was being held at a small exhibition space in the city centre, VISP, the physical location of this networking organisation for the Visual Arts in Norway. The space is snugged and cosy, visitors came into an indoor grass field and sat down on the floor. Some people took their shoes off, relaxing, looking at some of the photography works on the wall while they converse with one another. Some flip through their newly published magazine while Inish’s sound work was playing in the background with some elements of techno, occasionally vibrant and at times tranquil.
One of the works in the magazine left us with a slight sore in the chest – “Smaken av metall” (The taste of metal) is a poem by Imad Alwahibi, a Palestinian artist who grew up in Syria, and it is written in Norwegian. The artist expressed the feeling of relocating from one place to another, landlord to landlord, key to key, trying to settle in a place where they find it struggling to get a sense of belonging.
A description of the magazine on the publication’s event page describes more of what’s featured in the magazine below,
“In this edition, we have explored the theme of SENSES through analog photography, art, poetry, text and sound. We will get to sense the taste of painful keys together with Imad Alwahibi in the poem The taste of metal. We will get to smell excerpts from Giulia Avella’s collection of prose poems, Cycles, in which she lets us smell her everyday life like it once was. We will get to feel love and closeness in the photo series Do you remember? by Leah Håland Solomons, in which various people lead us into their most intimate memories. We will get to feel the brutal hands that were once gentle and experience how once-loving guests can become violent in the photo series Gentle touch by Cosmo Großbach. We will get to look at the sensory dominance of sight in Erick Trondsson Kjellevold’s text on the favouritism of the eye in architecture through the ages. We will get to listen, a pulsating soundscape by Inish that can change our cognitive experience, through the forest, knife drawer and binaural beats. And finally, we will get to browse through the analog photo album Månebedotten together.”
“Founded by architect Ben Wenhou Yu and designer Yilei Wang in Bergen, Norway.
Northing is a multi-functional space with a focus on publication, design, music, cultural events and cross-cultural communication. Based in Bergen, Norway and with an East Asian cultural background, Northing is dedicated to promoting Norwegian culture among artists and designers to East Asia and the other way round.
In 2019, Northing started its own publisher in Norway – Kinakaal Forlag, which means Chinese cabbage in Norwegian. Kinakaal Forlag will continue Northing’s dream and ambition in books and publication.
Northing Space is supported by Arts Council Norway (Kulturrådet) and Bergen Municipality.”
Drastic Social 
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