First, a bit of history. From what I've been told, Odin Theatre's amazing international performing arts center was founded via a letter from a nurse who saw their work in Copenhagen. Duly impressed by their performance, she wrote to her hometown mayor in Holstebro, suggesting that if he invited the company to relocate to their fine but sleepy town, it might boost tourism. Despite the fact that he never heard of the group (and rarely came to see their future shows) the mayor, a dedicated supporter of the arts, readily agreed and the rest, as they say, is History. When the nurse passed away some years ago, many of the beloved characters of Odin's productions accompanied her funeral procession.
But never fear, for if you beat a drum and flash some color, people will show up, and they did:
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| Holstebro - empty, as usual. |
I don't know anything about the ultimate economic impact of the theatre to Hostebro, a town of about 25,000 people. Where those people are, I have no idea. There are plenty of tidy houses around, and the businesses and shops are staffed with clerks. But in my few forays into the town's business sections I've been surprised by how empty the streets are.
We were scheduled to perform a street pageant on Friday -- but for who?
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| Pre-Pageant Assembly - Helen (on stilts) and Maskers |
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Street action and the gathering crowds. The Colombian group Nemcatacoa Teatro on the church steps. |
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