Coffee And Buns – The Modern Dance Theater/Riksteatern/University of Stockholm

An indoor pool filled with lukewarm coffee, approximately 5 meters in diameter. In the middle, approximately 1.5 meters up, there stands a woman who is connected to a pump system that causes a series of pipes surrounding her to spray the coffee in a pattern. The train of her gown goes all the way down to the pool. Around the pool there are 8 white pump-thermoses filled with coffee, cups, milk, sugar, etc. The public moves freely in the room, eats, dips the buns, and drinks coffee.

The woman (Tua Åberg) sings a dialogue with a man (Lennart Forsén/Dag Metin Ardel) who sits in a Plexiglas box. His suit is covered with thousands of glued and sewn-on seeds ­ wheat, corn, and rye ­ and cinnamon buns. On his head he also has a bull-wig. He shares the Plexiglas box with 10 white mice who climb over him and eat off the suit. Around him there is an Arcimboldo-overflow of breads, buns, and cakes.

Music

Carl-Axel Dominique provides musical accompaniment on clavisino, an instrument constructed for the king¹s 50-year birthday party at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, the only one of its kind in the world. The music is by F. Pilkington, D. Buxtehude, R.V. Williams, J. Hayden, J.S. Bach, C-A Dominique, C. Monteverdi, H. Purcell, and C.J.L. Almqvist.

Place

The Modern Dance Theater, the National Touring Theater, and the University of Stockholm; November, 1996 and March, 1997.

Recipe

1 Plexiglas cube with 12 kg baked cakes and buns, 10 mice and 1 male opera singer, 1 fountain with a female opera singer in 3768 liters of coffee, a hungry audience, 35 minutes.