NEW YORK - January 2026
WILDTOPIA will be in New York 7. - 16. January 2026 and director Karen Toftegaard look forward to (re)connecting with you. She'll be looking for shows to a new festival in Copenhagen and for opportunities to facilitate industry developing workshop formats. WILDTOPIA's core mission is indeed festival- and industry development.
Working internationally with environmental responsibility doesn’t mean not traveling.
For WILDTOPIA, it means making travel worthwhile.
For the upcoming trip to New York, the guiding question has been:
How can we use this journey in ways that also benefit others?
This time, the answer includes collaborating 1:1 with two Nordic artists/companies with powerful artistic and cultural relevance to amplify their international opportunities and networks during our trip to New York - and beyond.
Please meet Norwegian Oda Kirkebø-Nyfløtt from the international new magic company THE KRUMPLE and Danish Louise Beck from the innovative OPE-N - expanding Opera company.
Contact us at: hello [@] wildtopia.dk
Meet co-artistic director Oda Kirkebø Nyfløtt from the physical theatre and new magic company THE KRUMPLE that is committed to "the re-enchantment of the world". "CHIMERA" is their latest work
"It's like the effect of the Northern Lights; when you see it, something stops and falls back into place, and even though you know what it is, you still can't fully understand it, and that's why you like it, because you forget the unimportant things and remember the important ones."
Yngvild Aspeli about Chimera
THE KRUMPLE approaches their mission of "the re-enchantment of the world" with a profound sense of urgency. Renowned for its visually arresting theatre, the company blends masterful magical illusion with the precision and athleticism of physical theatre, crafting experiences defined by surprise, wonder, and emotional resonance.
The company has made 9 shows to date, several of them highly critically acclaimed. They have toured extensively internationally, visiting 10 countries so far – such as the renowned festivals Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen (Germany), GIFT in Tbilisi (Georgia), the Aranya Theater Festival (China) and The Tank in New York (US).
The guiding premise in the making of CHIMERA has been the words of Gabriel Garcia Marquez ("A Hundred Years of Solitude"):
“Things have a life of their own. It’s simply a matter of waking up their souls.”
Oda Kirkebø Nyfløtt will be pitching their newest production CHIMERA at Norway Now in New York.
Meet founding artistic directore Louise Beck from OPE-N dedicated to expanding Opera.
OPE-N is an award-winning and interdisciplinary opera company that was founded by artistic director Louise Beck in Copenhagen. She describes her artistic work:
My artistic work begins with a simple fascination: How our cultural heritage and political structures shape not only the world around us, but also our inner lives. I am drawn to opera because this fantastic artform is expansive enough to hold these dual perspectives - the personal and the societal view - at the same time. In my practice, I revisit stories from the past to understand the present, creating large-scale productions that illuminate the forces shaping contemporary identity. At the same time, I explore the intimacy of everyday life through close-up portrayals that foreground the emotional realities we all share.
OPE-N has co-produced large-scale opera productions in Asia, Australia, and Scandinavia, while their smaller works are touring in North America and Europe.
Please note that the “furiously beautiful and in-your-face experience” LOL – Laughing Out Lonely will be playing at Tapestry Opera in Toronto, Canada, on 16–17 January 2026, and at Mois Multi Festival on 14–15 February 2026. It will also be performed at Summerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, from 18–30 August 2026.