Voices between two countries

“Voices Between Two Countries” takes the audience into a rich, sensory universe where work, everyday life and major life changes blend into one another. Through song, storytelling and living historical material, we meet women from Western Norway who, in the period 1825–1925, chose – or were forced – to leave their homes in search of a new life in America.

The performance shifts between warmth, humour and raw reality. We are given glimpses of both the intimate and the dramatic: packing lists sent from America, cramped ship cabins, storms at sea, long train journeys – and the first encounters with a foreign continent.

In this landscape of labour, courage, fear and hope, it is song and storytelling that bind everything together. The music gives voice to what cannot always be put into words, while the narratives bring us close to life choices, loss and hope. Throughout the performance, the question of belonging also runs as a thread: where do we belong when life has uprooted us?

“Voices Between Two Countries” is a warm and powerful concert performance about choices, dreams and resilience. It highlights voices that have often stood in the shadow of the larger historical narratives – and allows them to sound clearly in a space carrying time, belief and human traces.

The production is a further development of the podcast Vågespel, launched in 2025 in connection with the Norwegian emigration anniversary. Across ten episodes, it follows Norwegian women from Western Norway who emigrated to America between 1825 and 1925. Letters, diaries and oral testimonies are woven together with historical sources and newly composed music.

Performers

• Reidun Horvei – vocals and storytelling

• Johanne Øvstebø Tvedten – storytelling

• Inger-Kristine Riber – composer and piano

Duration: 1 hour 10 minutes

Organiser: Vågespel