The ghost lamp, in French ‘la servante’, is common in old theatres and still used today in some places. It’s an electric light, typically a light bulb on a high stand, that stays lit when the theatre is plunged into darkness. The ghost light is usually placed near the center stage and stays on while the theatre is closed. The practical use of a ghost light is for safety, to avoid accidents in the dark, but the light is also said to ward away bad spirits or to guide the ghosts that are believed to haunt the theatre. The ghost light is like a sentinel, an eerie outpost watching over the theatre.
For this work Mette Edvardsen is working with long time collaborator and light designer Bruno Pocheron. Together they are trying to bring out the voice of the ghost light, to let the lamp speak and to hear what she has to say.
created and performed by: Mette Edvardsen
light design: Bruno Pocheron
sound driven light bulb, concept and development: Bruno Pocheron and Miodrag Gladovic
production: Mette Edvardsen/Athome
co-production: Ibsen Scope, Black Box teater, BIT Teatergarasjen
title: from an essay by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
A prelude of the performance text was published within the series Vibrational Semantics by Samuel Brzeski, 2025. This prelude text was performed together with Chris Brokaw on guitar at (O)utpost Flørli, June 2025.
PERFORMANCES:
Stamsund Internasjonale Teaterfestival (Stamsund) 28 May 2026
Black Box teater (Oslo) 20, 21, 22 March 2026
Meteor, BIT (Bergen) 15, 16 November 2025
