Information
Relæxt
Learn more about RELÆXT at the Northern Lights Festival
Welcome to a hush-free zone!
Relæxt are knowledge-based art and cultural experiences with a more relaxed setting. The events are for everyone, but they are specially adapted for children, adults and families who may find it challenging to attend regular performances.
We make small adjustments to create a Relæxt experience. For example, we dim the light in the hall, but never completely turn it off. We do not use stage smoke and strobe lighting, and we have adjusted the sound level in the highest peaks. In addition, you will receive a visual guide in advance describing the entire experience from your arrival at the venue until the end of the concert.
Most importantly: Relæxt is hush-free zone. You are allowed to both talk loudly, laugh, cry, tickle and shout, and you can walk in and out of the hall as much as you wish.
Read more about the various customizations we make in the drop-down menu.
We send out a visual guide by email to all ticket purchasers prior to performance. You can print it out and take it with you if you wish. The guide will also be made available on the event page.
The visual guide describes your entire experience with us from the time you enter the doors until you go home. In the guide you can read everything about the event itself, the characters or people on the stage, and a description of what is happening on stage - example the order of songs. Here we also list potential triggers.
If you need to step out a bit, you will find a Relæxt zone outside the stage room. This is a zone with sheltered furniture that you can use both before, during and after the performance.
At RELÆXT performances at the Northern Lights Festival, you’ll be greeted by a group of friendly volunteers as you arrive. They scan your ticket and can help you find a good seat, open doors, and answer questions big or small — and if they don’t know the answer, they’ll certainly know who does.
- The light in the hall will be dim, but never completely turned off.
- We adjust the sound level
- No strobe lights
At RELÆXT events, you are free to talk, laugh, cry, tic, and shout. The only thing we ask is that you don’t shush others — RELÆXT is a shush-free zone.
You are welcome to enter and leave the auditorium as often as you need — and you can make use of the “RELÆXT zone” outside the hall whenever you wish.
Research-based
RELÆXT performances at the Northern Lights Festival follow the guidelines and recommendations of the RELÆXT model.
The RELÆXT model is built on solid knowledge and experience and has been gradually developed over the past five years in close collaboration with professional institutions and user organizations. In close cooperation with researchers at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Nord University, and Volda University College, over 50 in-depth interviews have been conducted with children, young people, and families with diverse abilities, as well as with user organizations and cultural institutions. This research has provided valuable insights into existing barriers and how to break them down — while ensuring the model also works in practice for arts and cultural organizations.
Today, RELÆXT has grown into a national initiative. Cultural centers, festivals, orchestras, theaters, and cinemas across the country are joining together in a unique collaboration to open our community spaces in a more inclusive way.
We are incredibly proud to have been involved in the RELÆXT project from the very beginning as part of the steering group, together with the Arctic Philharmonic, Tromsø International Film Festival, and TIFF Junior, initiated by Hålogaland Theatre. It is truly amazing to see RELÆXT experiences spreading across the country.
Learn more about Relæxt
At relaext.no you can read more about the research that has been done, about the experiences of the audience and about what we as organizers do
