White Box

Anatomy of a failed polar expedition

On 11 July 1897, the young photographer Nils Strindberg sets off on a scientific expedition to the Arctic led by Swedish engineer Salomon Auguste Andrée. Their mission? To fly over the North Pole in a hot air balloon to Canada or Russia, depending on where the wind would bring them. The explorers were waved off by excited politicians, international journalists and a brass band. Shortly after, all trace of them vanished – until thirty-three years later, when their bodies were found by chance in the ice of Kvitøya, the ‘White Island’, together with a box full of undeveloped film rolls …

WHITE BOX is the directorial debut of Belgian set designer Sabine Theunissen, known for her collaboration of many years with William Kentridge (Lulu, Wozzeck, The Nose). Together with choreographer Gregory Maqoma, she distils the epic adventure of the polar travellers into a metaphorical comedy about scientific exploration, one man’s quest for fame, and human hubris in the face of nature.

Start ticket sale 26.6.2025
Tickets: € 35