Prøverommet at Bergen Public Library

Dato

Tid

Sted

Dato

Tid

Sted

Monday 17. March 2025

18:00 – 20:00

Bergen Public Library (Main library)

Free – no reservation required

Tilgjengelighet Accessible with wheelchair No blackout No stage smoke or scents No strobe lights Seated or seating options With English text/speech

Mandagsfilmen with Prøverommet

The first hour of the event is conceived in collaboration with the library’s own film series Mandagsfilmen (Monday Movie), by showing three shorts from the UK-based distribution collective T A P E, who highlight “the sheer variety of under-served films out there”.

The screenings will be followed by two performances from Bergen-based artists: Yimin Dong’s refreshing How does water taste like? and then Tine Adler and Nayara Leite’s optimistic Finding hope in a dumpster fire.

The event is free, no need to reserve tickets, all welcome!

T A P E

T A P E is a UK-based collective launched as a response to the lack of representation on screen; wanting to platform and highlight the sheer variety of under-served films out there. Over the years T A P E has curated a number of well-rounded screenings bringing together film, art, music, talks and more into one space and events with a focus on representation, identity and heritage; bringing exciting screenings to new audiences, championing the forgotten could-be cult films of the festival circuit with a focus on programmes of women of colour both behind and in front of the camera. Each film selected for this event are between 12-20 minutes in duration.

Muna by Warda Mohamed

A film about dislocated grief, teenage dreams and unexpected connection. British-Somali teen Muna is desperate to go on the school trip – to have fun with her mates, escape the monotony of her household and, of course, provide the greatest playlist of all time (!!). But her parents aren’t so sure. Tragedy strikes when her grandfather dies back in Somalia, and Muna must navigate a confusing mourning period for someone she never really knew – all while still desperately hoping to persuade her mother to change her mind about the trip. As events collide at the wake, Muna reflects on her and her grandfather’s life, discovering there’s more that connects the two of them than she ever realised…

Directed by: Warda Mohamed
Starring: Kosar Ali
Produced by: Angela Moneke and Simon Hatton
Language: English
Year: 2023

Neo Nahda by May Ziadé

Mona, a young woman in London, finds archived photographs of Arab women cross-dressing in the 1920s. Somewhere between her fantasies and reality, she starts a feverish journey of uncovering lost histories and her own identity. Through a coming-of-age narrative, the film explores the euphoric relationship those who are marginalised create with images and symbols, and how archive images can be a portal for the world of inner projections, creating meaning and grounding one’s identity.

Written and directed by: May Ziadé
Starring: Eman Alali
Produced by: Antonia Luxem
Language: English
Year: 2023

Essex Girls by Yero Timi-Blu

Navigating adolescence in Essex, South East England, hasn’t been straightforward for British-Nigerian Bisola. She’s done her best to fit in, but even her two best friends Charlie & Saffron, who love her to bits, seem to be understanding her less and less recently. However, after an incident at her high school shunts her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year – the gorgeous, irrepressible Ashlee, who is everything Bisola wishes she could be – Bisola is plunged into discovering a whole new side of herself. Based on writer/lead actress Busayo Ige’s real-life experiences of growing up in the coastal regions of Essex, Essex Girls explores how it feels to be a Black girl in a mostly white regional space, how to find self-love in a sphere that doesn’t always accommodate you, the magical power of female friendships and Black girl magic. All wrapped inside a warm, funny, nostalgic vision of 2009 Britain – the era of UK garage revival, Jane Norman bags, and BBM.

Directed by: Yero Timi-Blu
Written by: Busayo Ige
Starring: Busayo Ige
Produced by: Angela Moneke and Simon Hatton
Language: English
Year: 2023

How does water taste like? by Yimin Dong

In this participatory performance, you will be presented with three glasses of water, time, space and both fundamental and advanced techniques of water tasting. Together, we will explore water as both an object and an experience. Bring an open heart and curious mouth.

Yimin Dong (they) is a performance artist, community builder, global citizen and applied theater practitioner. They are deeply fascinated by moments of heightened awareness—of gravity, noticing the first signs of spring, or the difference between your smile in the morning and at night….. These moments inspire their work– performances which seek to disrupt numbed societal/sensory routines and invite audiences into meditative, joyful, and transformative experiences.

POSTPONED: Finding hope in a dumpster fire by Tine Adler and Nayara Leite
– Unfortunately, this performance has been postponed due to sickness. It will be presented at another Prøverommet event in the future. Thank you for understanding.

The world is a dumpster fire. The pain and suffering witnessed every day makes the world seem hopeless and unnecessarily cruel. In artists Nayara Leite and Tine Adler’s marriage, hopelessness takes centre stage in their everyday life: in dinner conversations, Instagram posts shared with each other, the last words whispered before falling asleep.

Finding hope in a dumpster fire is a performative presentation and conversation between Leite and Adler, where they hope to end this unconstructive loop of despair and pessimism they have been trapped in for so long. It’s a dive into their different upbringings in Brazil and Denmark. How the communities, religions and folklore they grew up in shaped their ideas of what trust and hope embodies, and how these ideas reinforced a notion of non-belonging. From joining a campaign to canonise Brazil’s first queer saint to searching for gender fluidity in Norse Mythology, they’ll share their different journeys to redefine the elements of the pasts to meet in a more hopeful shared present.

Nayara Leite (she, b. 1989) is a Brazilian artist and writer based in Bergen. Nayara works across text, performance, film, photography and installation. Through autobiographical narrative, political news, archival material and letters to close friends, she produces a portrayal of the reality in which the LGBTQ+ community lives in Brazil and in Norway.

Tine Adler (they, b. 1989) is a Danish artist and writer based in Bergen. Under the themes of belonging versus outsideness, they use unconventional combinations of media, techniques and materials, to experiment with different ways of staging stories. Through sculptures, installation and text, they strive to start conversations around gender and queerness, by distorting the symbolic values assigned to objects, actions, bodies and emotions.

What is Prøverommet?

Prøverommet has been running at BIT Teatergarasjen for over 25 years, popping up at various venues throughout the seasons since 2008. It’s a space to try out new artistic material in front of an audience using any medium: dance, theatre, poetry, visual art, music… almost 2500 projects have been presented so far!

Stay tuned by signing up to the mailing list, following on Instagram or checking the webpage proverommet.no.