English Version

Babylon Dreaming Babylon Dreaming is a cabaret played by a devilish angel and two dapper musicians in times of war. The piece is built up around music from the cabaret stages of the 1930s and 40s. On stage we meet the angel Babylon and her two loyal servants, the musicians. Gesticulating excitedly, she tries to break into the human world with the help of music and a Babylonic mix of languages. After the fall of the Tower of Babel, the angels have rebelled and sent Babylon to the earth. Babylon is ordered to teach man to fly. But down on earth everything is so complicated, even for an angel. On earth, you can only fly on “the wings of the soul” using art, humour and love. Slowly, Babylon’s angel dust diminishes to a white powder in her bag of luck. In the beginning everything just seems like a game, but slowly Babylon becomes more earthly through her tales about man. Then, as Babylon finds herself burdened by misery and wishing to leave earth, she discovers that she has lost her ability to fly.

During the first act, love is celebrated through song in a harmless and enchanting game. But slowly Babylon wakes from her angel sleep and finds herself caught in a labyrinth of desire, possession and ambiguity. In the second act, we leave the dream of paradise and eternal happiness and travel further out into man’s history of tyrannical power, war, nationalism and the desire for freedom.

Babylon the angel wants to bring passion to life, but how? She talks insanely to herself, to heaven and to the audience, while at the same time she celebrates our love through song, in the dust that was once the Tower of Babel. The audience is drawn ever deeper into love’s labyrinth with both humour and gravity.

The cabaret’s musicians accompany us all the way on the double bass, piano, trumpet, guitar, mouth harp and box, in an evening full of theatrical music, with texts and tunes by Edith Piaf, Bertholt Brecht, Poul Henningsen, Bruno Balz, Kurt Weill, Hanns Eisler, and others.

About Babylon Trio

Babylon Trio Søs Banke: Actress and singer. From 2000 to 2002 worked for Zimmertheater in Tübingen, Germany, as actress and director’s assistant. Student of dramaturgy at the University of Århus. The theatre piece “Babylon Dreaming” was born in the spring of 2002 under the collaboration of Søs Banke and Zimmertheater in Tübingen, Germany. The Danish version of the theatre piece had its premiere on 21 July 2004 with the Babylon Trio at Vestjyllands Højskole.

Torben Lassen: Musician, composer and songwriter (trumpet, double bass, guitar and mouth harp). Has worked as a jazz musician and theatre musician in innumerable connections. Winner of Jazz Musician of the Year in Holsterbro.

Nikolai Seidelin: Musician (piano, guitar, double bass and drums). Has worked as a live and studio musician in many different connections in Denmark and Germany. Composer and musician for Cosmo Cat. Master in history of science and learning. Teaches music and philosophy at Vestjyllands Højskole (Danish Folk High School) in Velling, Jutland.