C AT A L O G U E 2016 English
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
Hanne Tømta ARTISTIC AND GENERAL DIRECTOR
Dear Festival Audience
Welcome to the 15th Ibsen festival Any way you look at it, Henrik Ibsen is one of Norway’s most important exports. Not only is he Norway’s greatest playwright, he is also ranked as the world’s second greatest playwright, after Shakespeare. He is ”Big in Japan”, and big in the wide, wide world. Never before has Ibsen been played
so much in so many countries, and he continues to inspire new insights – and strong reactions. Ibsen is awesome. This critic of society, born almost 200 years ago, keeps on biting – and hard. In many parts of the world, it continues to shock people that a woman can leave her husband 3
and children, as Nora does in A Doll’s House. And what happens when the adventurer, egoist and liar Peer Gynt is played as a woman – are we ready for that? Do we still feel that his deceits, failures and lies are a bit charming? When An Enemy of the People
Thus Ibsen continues to peer at us over his round glasses. He is very much present – in each and every one of us. HANNE TØMTA, ARTISTIC AND GENERAL DIRECTOR, THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF NORWAY
Thus Ibsen continues to peer at us over his round glasses. He is very much present – in each and every one of us. Whether we are socially involved, living a life lie, fighting for women’s right to choose their own happiness or are tired of the compact majority … Perhaps we would only like to let the beard grow long, think big thoughts and enjoy good theatre – all of this in Ibsen’s spirit.
1990 has put Norway on the world map and shown that the Norwegian National Theatre is an international power center for drama, debate and dialogue. This is the festival that demonstrates Ibsen’s vitality and importance, and challenges us – just like Ibsen – to see ourselves from without, and to reflect upon how others lead their lives. More than 170 performances and events are on the programme during this year’s festival. We have guest performances from abroad and our own strong productions by leading directors, each with their original take on Ibsen, new Norwegian drama, interviews, artist talks, debates, seminars, events for children, a festival bar and much more!
So bring out your inner Ibsen and celebrate the fact that social criticism, discontent, new perspectives and world-class theatre never go out of fashion. Come to the festival that since
Art is becoming an increasingly more important export business and an arena for international dialogue and co-operation. Recognition and interaction across national borders strengthen
is staged in Zimbabwe, this play is frighteningly relevant in its criticism of corruption, and as Europeans we see ourselves with new eyes when Little Eyolf becomes Little Europa – a tragedy about the dysfunctional relationships in our little part of the world.
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Norway’s international reputation. Ibsen was a citizen of the world, and wrote world-class fiction. In a time when national borders are more guarded but also more fluid than ever, Ibsen’s dramas may help open our eyes to the world – perhaps even make us citizens of the world – in our time. This year’s festival is programmed under the heading After Ibsen, with an emphasis on interpretations, adaptations and contemporary drama. Henrik Ibsen is still a guarantist for innovation in theater and drama – and The Ibsen Festival will contribute to the development of new drama today. Welcome to the theatre – and enjoy the festival!
Hanne Tømta,
ARTISTIC AND GENERAL DIRECTOR
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
I go to scale the Future’s possibilities! Farewell! FALK, LOVE’S COMEDY
Content: ARE YOU READY FOR THE IBSEN FESTIVAL?
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THE DARK ATTIC (NO)
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ABOUT THE IBSEN FESTIVAL
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THE GREENLAND SUTRA (NO)
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IBSEN´S LITTLE DEVILS (NO)
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BRAND – MY GOD IS STORM (NO)
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VILDANDEN + EN FOLKEFIENDE – ENEMY OF THE DUCK (NO) 16
ERIK EDVARDSEN ABOUT BRAND
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ERIK EDVARDSEN ABOUT THE WILD DUCK AND AN…
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THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY (NO)
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PEER GYNT (DE)
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HEDDA GABLER (SE/NO)
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WATER GAMES (ZW)
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MONSTERS OF REALITY – THE MIMESIS MACHINE (NO/GR) 64
LET YOU BE (NO)
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ROTATING NORA (NO)
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THE INTERNATIONAL IBSEN AWARD 2016
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HEDDA GABLER AT SÆTERHYTTEN (NO)
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AND ON THE THOUSANDTH NIGHT (UK)
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THE PRETENDERS – A STAGED READING (SE/NO)
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THE NOTEBOOK (UK)
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NEW NORDIC DRAMA (NO/FO/DK/SE/IS/FI)
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THE COMING STORM (UK)
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SOMEONE IS GOING TO COME (AH! AH! AH! AH!) (NO)
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A BROADCAST/LOOPING PIECES (UK)
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SPKRBOX – A FESTIVAL WITHIN THE FESTIVAL
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HEDDA GABLER (NO)
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IBSEN: PEER GYNT (DE)
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FESTIVAL FRINGE – MUCH MORE THAN THEATRE!
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BORKMAN (NO)
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ERIK EDVARDSEN ABOUT JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN
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DID YOU KNOW THIS ABOUT HENRIK IBSEN?
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LITTLE EUROPA (IT)
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CALENDAR
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WHEN THE DEAD AWAKEN (GS)
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VENUE MAP
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CHILD (HU)
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THE ”IBSTER” IN US
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Are you ready for the Ibsen festival? Here are the top seven tips for getting ready for the Ibsen festival.
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Put on your granny glasses and start growing your sideburns
Did you know that John Lennon was inspired by Ibsen when he acquired his iconic granny glasses and grew sideburns? Lennon and Yoko Ono were both very interested in Ibsen, and it may be no coincidence that they married on the 20th of March, Ibsen’s birthday! TIPS: Learn more about The Beatles and their relationship to Ibsen from the lecture John Lennon – An Ibsen fan? in the Festival bar!
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1 Fine-tune your social conscience
Ibsen’s works fit right in with many of our most heated contemporary debates. Expand your horizon and find new perspectives through Ibsen’s dramas. What could be better than quoting Ibsen the next time you’re discussing corruption or feminism?
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TIPS: Ibsen’s social criticism is just as relevant in today’s world: Think for example of the Italian Little Europe, which has turned Ibsen’s Little Eyolf into a drama about a Europe in family crisis
Take Ibsen’s collected works down from the shelf
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Enjoy reading his plays, or come straight to the performances. We all know drama is at it’s very best in the theatre.
Give me a hat and a cane, please
Forget your wellies and your cowboy hat – this autumn the festival fashion is definitively more classical and elegant. But we won’t call the fashion police if in good Ibsen style you reject conventions and rather go for a summer dress and sneakers.
TIPS:
See the play that combines Vildanden [The Wild Duck] + En folkefiende [An Enemy of the People]: entitled “Enemy of the Duck”. That’s killing two birds with one stone, so you can tick off two of Ibsen’s most famous classics in one night!
TIPS:
Share pics with us on social media, using the hashtag #ibsenfestival2016!
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More tips on the next page
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5 Copy Peer Gynt – lie to your mother
Tell her you’re coming straight home after the performance (which, needless to say, you won’t do, because you’re going to an Ibsen party with all the other Ibsters!) TIPS: You can see Peer Gynt in two very different versions during the festival: In Simon Stone’s version at Hovedscenen Peer is a woman, while in the version by Markus&Markus at Amfiscenen, Peer is a demented man called Herbert.
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6 Or do as Nora – leave your husband
Being single at a festival can be barrels of fun! Or – bring your spouse to the theatre, it might do the marriage good! TIPS: See Ibsen’s Et dukkehjem [A Doll’s House] as a visual celebration in the dance performance Rotating Nora in Dansens hus [National Stage for Dance], or as an intimate encounter with the theatre in Malersalen with the young Hungarian theatre ensemble dollardaddy’s.
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7 Avoid polluted waters in the public baths
We recommend ”Dr. Stockmann’s folkevann [water of the people]” – the festival’s own soft drink! Guaranteed untouched by the management of the baths – and a beverage to soothe your throat. TIPS: In many of today’s developing countries, corruption and clean water issues are highly relevant. Experience Water Games, a Zimbabwean and highly relevant version of An Enemy of the People.
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INTRODUCTION
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CALENDAR & MAP
FOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBY
ABOUT THE IBSEN FESTIVAL:
A celebration of Norway’s greatest playwright Through performances, discussions, artist talks, children’s events, and much more, the Ibsen Festival lets us look at Ibsen, humanity, and society in new and different ways.
TEXT: EDITORIAL MORE ABOUT
The Ibsen Festival
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The Ibsen Festival led to the world becoming part of the Norwegian theatre in a new and far stronger way.
JULIE HOLLEDGE AND FRODE HELLAND, IBSEN SCHOLARS
Never before has Henrik Ibsen been performed so often in so many different places around the world. Just as Norway’s great playwright broke new ground for what drama could be, his work and ideas break through the barriers between countries and languages. Ibsen is quite simply a global phenomenon, as well as an important trade commodity. “What shall we export when the oil runs dry?”, actor Kåre Conradi once asked rhetorically. “Why, Ibsen, of course.” During the Ibsen Festival, Ibsen comes home again – to the National Theatre of Norway, where his plays are staged by leading international theatre companies. The programme consists of new productions of high artistic quality, performed in a variety of languages. The world’s most prestigious theatre award, the International Ibsen Award, will be handed out, and this year’s winner, the British theatre company Forced Entertainment, will be staging four productions. The Ibsen Festival is in particular a venue where our own artists show the world what the
Norwegian theatre community has to offer. In this way the Ibsen Festival is an international celebration of Norway’s greatest playwright and of his trailblazing work for the theatre and society.
ternational standing to light. … At the same time, the National Theatre and other institutional Norwegian theatres have become more internationally oriented because of the festival.”
Throughout twenty-six years, fifteen festivals, and hundreds of productions by companies from Norway and abroad, the Ibsen Festival has shown how eternally relevant Ibsen remains. Moreover, the festival has revolutionized the way Ibsen’s plays are staged in his homeland. “The Ibsen Festival led to the world becoming part of the Norwegian theatre in a new and far stronger way,” noted the Ibsen scholars Frode Helland and Julie Holledge before the 2014 festival. “After the festival’s founding, Ibsen could no longer be performed in the same way any longer.”
Hyldig also demonstrated how the festival more or less introduced a new type of theatre, the postmodern director’s theatre, to Norway. Ibsen performances in Norway had previously been more actor-oriented. According to Hyldig, the new director-oriented theatre “achieved something of a breakthrough” during the festival in 2004, a trend that was confirmed during the 2006 edition. This year’s festival has the heading After Ibsen, because of its programme of interpretations, adaptations and contemporary drama. The Ibsen Festival has a stated goal to contribute to the innovation of performing arts and stage text – in the spirit of Henrik Ibsen.
Keld Hyldig, an associate professor in theatre studies, made a similar observation during the festival’s twentieth anniversary in 2010. “The Ibsen Festival sparked off a wave of renewal in how to perform Ibsen. The festival has brought Ibsen’s in-
And the public is up for it. The previous festival in 2014 set a new attendance record and confirmed the Ibsen Festival as Norway’s largest and most important theatre festival. This has occurred even as the Ibsen Festival has become even
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INTRODUCTION
S
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
The ”ibster” in us more international, also among spectators: the festival has never had as many international spectators as it did in 2014. This year as well, the side programme will turn the festival into a meeting place for visitors of all ages. The programme features discussions, lectures, theatrical roundtables, and artist talks, Ibsen quizzes, Ibsen stunts, and fun events for children – and every night the festival bar will be open. Join us and paint the town yellow!
Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien in 1828 and died in 1906 in Kristiania (modern-day Oslo). He made his debut as a playwright in 1850 with Catiline, while When We Dead Awaken from 1899 became his final play. By then, he had written a total of twenty-seven plays and enjoyed a reputation as one of the world’s greatest playwrights.
Ibsen broke new ground both in art and social commentary. With his iconic glasses and characteristic beard – was he the hipster of his day? Or was he simply an ”ibster”? Ibsen was ahead of his time. He wrote about the irritating “compact majority” and whistle-blowers who were not heard. He wrote about women brave and daring enough to walk out on their husbands and children, and was labelled a feminist. Ibsen discussed freedom and defended the rights of children. He put great faith in science – and expanded the horizons of both art and social commentary. The values Henrik Ibsen addressed in his dramas are the same values that Norwegians often identify with and that we like to display to the rest of the world: equality, democratic principles, freedom of expression and the rights of minorities. And these are values we are still discussing today – with conviction and intensity. But it is not only Ibsen’s ideas that live on. The iconic round glasses, the hat and the prominent beard – don’t these also appear on alternative, critical and concerned young people today? Was Ibsen the hipster of his time? Are you an ibster? Have you been called a songbird and hated it? Do you feel that sometimes a life lie can be good to have? Are you willing to challenge authority? Perhaps you just want to sip your beer, slip into deep thought or enjoy good theatre? Do you love festivals? Congratulations, you’re an ibster!
The ”ibster” in us CONTINUES
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Four of today’s ibsters! We present four famous persons we feel represent today’s ibster.
1 Yoko Ono ARTIST
One of our favourite ibsters is Yoko Ono. Not only has she honoured Ibsen and his efforts for women’s liberation with a special exhibition and book, Ono also has the honour of having introduced Ibsen’s works to John Lennon, whereupon he allegedly went out and acquired Ibsen-inspired glasses. Not only this, rumour has it that the Beatles’ iconic The White Album was actually going to be called A Doll’s House.
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INTRODUCTION
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Ibsen was provocative – he loved to fight! He sided with the weak – just like us!
CALENDAR & MAP
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Egil Hegerberg NORWEGIAN MUSICIAN
When in 2006 Norway commemorated the centenary of the death of Henrik Ibsen, the Norwegian metal band Black Debbath, where Egil Hegerberg is a central figure, released an album dedicated to the dramatist.
– I think we were most interested in the pun quality in Ibsen’s words. But we were also trying for a little relevance. – ”Ibsen was awesome, Ibsen is brilliant”, you sing. What makes him awesome and brilliant? – He really had an incredibly attractive long beard! And then he had a sharp pen. – Do you think he can touch us in Norway today? – Sure, we have Peer Gynt, which some interpret as portraying Norwegian complacency. I think we can find some of that around still, don’t you think?
The album was called Naar Vi Døde Rocker [When We Dead Rock] and included gems like ”Motörhedda Gabler”, ”By The Death Bed of Mor Aase” and ”Ville Eyolf” [Wild Eyolf]. With his political and humorous kick at the establishment, Egil Hegerberg is in our opinion the ultimate ibster. The fact that this spring he chose to remove his Ibsen-inspired beard reveals that a genuine ibster comes from within. – What is your relationship to Ibsen? – Several members of Black Debbath have read his plays and think they’re awesome. He knew how to write, Ibsen! People were generally enthusiastic when we released the record, like ”Now Ibsen will be a hit with the kids”! – Your texts may be considered a user manual for Ibsen’s plays, in a way: The Wild Duck actually has the bird flu, Little Eyolf is taken by rock and drowns in his own vomit. Was the idea to get young people to read Ibsen, or was humour the driving force?
Hegerberg thinks that Ibsen can absolutely be considered a hipster: – For instance, Ibsen loved special beer, which has become a strong hipster trend. – But you don’t have the same beard as Ibsen anymore? – It’s growing out again, but not quite Ibsen length yet. – You’re on record saying that Ibsen did not love music? – That’s right, but that’s because the good music hadn’t been made yet. Ibsen would have loved heavy rock!
Four of today’s ibsters! CONTINUES
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Four of today’s ibsters! CONTINUES
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My husband is one of those rare people who doesn’t mind uncomfortable silences. So he’s the perfect person to connect with Ibsen.
Ibsen? Story? Story of the Ibsen? The Ibsen of the Story?
(NEW YORK MAGAZINE)
Cate Blanchett
Noora
ACTRESS
CHARACTER IN NRK TV-SERIES SKAM (SHAME)
For many she will be most familiar as Queen of the Elves, but did you know that Cate Blanchett also is a true ibster? Her interpretation of Hedda Gabler in 2006 was described as a ”moody perpetual motion machine, twirling among several centuries’ worth of acting styles” by the head critic of The New York Times, and she won the prestigious Helpmann award for the role. Moreover, the Norwegian Government chose to give her the Ibsen statue. Cate, Norway loves you!
Not only is Noora from the TV success Skam both socially committed and a feminist, she is also the namesake of Henrik Ibsen’s perhaps most famous female role, Nora in A Doll’s House. What finally convinced us that Noora is a perfect ibster is that she of course had this work on her bookshelf.
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INTRODUCTION
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CALENDAR & MAP
One should try all things and choose the best. PEER, PEER GYNT
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Truth at all costs? VILDANDEN + EN FOLKEFIENDE – ENEMY OF THE DUCK (NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN. ADAPTED BY THORLEIFUR ÖRN ARNARSSON AND MIKAEL TORFASON.
Contrasting, intense and aesthetic Ibsen montage. Tomas Stockmann has realized that a local prestige project, where his brother Peter is on the board, constitutes a threat to society. He decides to go public, Peter tries to stop him. But Tomas has the truth on his side. And the support of the majority. He thinks.
where Gregers Werle and Tomas Stockmann are portrayed as the same man. Wholesale merchant Werle and Peter Stockmann are also melted into one character, Gregers’s brother Peter
Werle. Peter can lose everything if both secrets are revealed, while Gregers is willing to sacrifice everything in the name of the truth. The result is an Ibsenian Cain and Abel story.
Festival opening!
September 8 at 18.00
In another Ibsen universe, Gregers Werle discovers a secret about his friend Hjalmar Ekdal’s family – a secret involving Gregers’s father, the wholesale merchant. The truth will result in disaster for the little family, if it comes out. What happens if you combine these two universes? Icelandic director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, who has a degree from Berlin, has dreamed of bringing together Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People and The Wild Duck for a long time. With a critical view, he debates power-hungry white men from the middle class, who have neither the capability to see themselves from another perspective, nor the capability to compromise. The result is an expressive and psychologically driven production, 16
INTRODUCTION
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READ THE INTRODUCTION-ARTICLE
Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson DIRECTOR
Arnarsson has a degree in acting from Iceland, before he studied directing at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. Arnarsson works mainly in Germany and in Iceland. For “Njåls saga” at Reykjavik Stadsteater he and his team recieved ten Gríman-awards, Icelands most acknowledged theatre award.
Playwright on the quest for truth
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
This time, events unroll 130 years later, in present day Norway. The topic is no longer toxic waters, but oil rigs belonging to Northern Oil & Gas, where Peter is the CEO. Vildanden +
En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck is a contrasting, intense and aesthetic Ibsen montage posing the question: Is the truth always the right path?
PREMIERE 8 SEPTEMBER
19:30
ILLUSTRATION: SUNNEVA ÀSA WEISSHAPPEL. PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
9 SEPTEMBER
19:30
10 SEPTEMBER
18:00
12 SEPTEMBER
19:30
13 SEPTEMBER
19:30
14 SEPTEMBER
19:30
15 SEPTEMBER
13:00
English surtitles
Director: Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson Set Designer: Vytautas Narbutas Costume Designer and Choreographer: Sunneva Àsa Weisshappel Composer: Bjarni Frimann Light Designer: Agnethe Tellefsen Make-up: Ruth Haraldsdottir Norvik Dramaturg: Hege Randi Tørressen Actors: Mads Ousdal, Eindride Eidsvold, Nader Khademi, Kai Remlov, Andrea Bræin Hovig, Kjersti Tveterås, Frøydis Armand, Lasse Lindtner, Anders Mordal and Terje Strømdahl Dancers: Elisabeth Buer Vase, Emily Natalie Su, Ida Eline Wøien, Tuva Holen and Louise Tofte Røiri Produced by Nationaltheatret The performance is part of The Big O.
Explosion of the senses. With an excess embossed scene, director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson debates power-hungry white men from the middle class, who have neither the capability to see themselves from another perspective, nor the capability to compromise.
The Big O is a pilot for a new collaborative project made up of some of Norway’s leading cultural institutions and the most out-there culture enthusiasts. It is our pleasure to invite you to The Big O’s opening party on the 7th September, where there will be a taste of the project’s exciting and diverse programme and a chance to learn more about our plans for the future. 17
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Erik Edvardsen DIRECTOR OF THE IBSEN MUSEUM
Playwright on the quest for truth The quest for truth is a key element in both An Enemy of the People and The Wild Duck. Here Ibsen also reveals his faith in science.
Henrik Ibsen described his contemporary dramas as a coherent whole and encouraged his audience to read all his works in chronological order, from the first to the last, omitting none. Thus there appears to be an external framework, where his debut play, Catiline, suggests the goal of his life’s work: ”I must, I must, for so a voice commands me deep in my innermost soul, and I obey it; …” and finally rounding everything off with When We Dead Awaken, saying farewell with these words ”… No more life in the prison for me! I am free as a bird! I am free!” But Ibsen also referred to
parallel dramas. If there is a relationship between Nora, who slams the door, putting an exclamation mark on her choice, and Helene Alving, who stays and covers over the difficulties, between A Doll’s House and Ghosts, perhaps there is also something that links together the next two published plays: An Enemy of the People (1882) and The Wild Duck (1884)? Georg Brandes’ exhortation to start debating relevant issues, and the relationship between inheritance and environment, as well as the longing for freedom, are in various ways prominent 18
themes in all of Ibsen’s plays from the 1880s. While we are not told which book titles provoke Pastor Manders in Helene Alving’s reading in Ghosts, Ibsen shows faith in new knowledge and science in both An Enemy of the People and The Wild Duck – which also in several ways explore the search for truth: truth in the family, truth in society. And also: scientific truth. Tomas Stockmann experiences what in his eyes should be impossible: that the stubborn compact majority and their tyranny of the majority want to decide what is right and wrong, rather like a Parliamentary ele-
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To start debating relevant issues, and the relationship between inheritance and environment, as well as the longing for freedom, are in various ways prominent themes in all of Ibsen’s plays from the 1880s.
ction or a jury system in a court. Hjalmar Ekdal’s dark loft houses the same four breeds of animal that Charles Darwin used in an experiment with domestic animals at home in England to test the theory of natural selection. Precisely as Stockmann was shouted down, his voice silenced, the animals are caged in the dark loft, left to Old Ekdal’s selection by firearm. After Ibsen finished The Wild Duck, he attended a party given by the Scandinavian Association in Rome. According to the diary of the association librarian, Fanny Riis, from 3 December 1884, Ibsen disclosed his vision for the future: ”I. (Ibsen - editor’s note) regretted that one cannot live for 100 or 200 years to witness the progress that would have arrived in the world during this period of time. One thing takes over from the other, develops from something else, astronomy from alchemy, religion from mythology – religion will in due course cease and step aside for something else, as well
as poetry – There is no more poetry any longer…”. Today more efficient excavators and explosives, chemicals and fool-proof analyses would have rendered the discussion in An Enemy of the People moot when it comes to concealing issues connected to health tourism. On the other hand, considerations of loyalty and which experts and knowledge should be highlighted or silenced are just as important and relevant today. Nor is it any longer necessary to study genealogy to determine who will develop vision impairment or inherit diseases, as in The Wild Duck. Today gene testing and DNA will give more exact results. We rather discuss the value of social or biological parents, and equally important are the themes connected to caregiving, bullying, empathy, recognition and compassion for your fellow man.
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Erik Edvardsen is the director of the Ibsen Museum in Oslo. During the Ibsen Festival he will hold lectures on Ibsen and the National Theatre’s own Ibsen productions. What was Ibsen concerned about when he wrote? How were his plays received, and how do they relate to the trends in art and society?
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A woman of today! PEER GYNT (DE)
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An inspiring and well-played production THEATER HEUTE
One must admire Stone for his sovereign treatment of the classics TAZ DIE TAGESZEITUNG
BY SIMON STONE. BASED ON HENRIK IBSEN.
Peer – the role Ibsen didn’t realize he was writing for the 21st century woman.
the pricks. But where are the women who fuck themselves up just because they can? Because they need to, because finding
Henrik Ibsen's Dramatic Poem Peer Gynt, from 1867, has become mythic in European theatre. The story of the liar and outsider, the queer fellow and adventurer, but also the egoist and loser, is the Odyssey of modern man looking for salvation. In this adaptation of Peer Gynt, the Australian director Simon Stone, one of the most important young directors in Europe, has rewritten and directed Ibsen’s classic. He has taken the same story, the same events, the same egosentric actions, the same neglect, disdain of society, selfish hedonism, sexual profligacy, greed, laziness and fuck-you attitude. And made Peer a woman. “Our literature is full of men fucking themselves up only to find themselves again. It’s a male prerogative. Since the beginning of time we’ve romanticized the self-destruction of young men questioning societal boundaries, kicking against 20
out who you really are requires the annihilation of self? Why is it a lot more worrying when a woman behaves like Peer?” asks Stone.
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Simon Stone DIRECTOR
Simon Stone is one of the most acclaimed young theatre directors internationally today. He is known to adapt classics into intimate, almost cinematic performances. In 2011 he became resident director at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney, where he wrote and directed a new version of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, which was shown during the Ibsen Festival in 2012, and was the only show with a waiting list. Stones adaptation of John Gabriel Borkman received The Nestroy Theatre Award in 2015.
He also wonders why men get to keep all the adventures to themselves and why they have a monopoly on epiphanies. In Stone’s eyes, Peer
Gynt is the most exciting role Ibsen didn’t realize he was writing for the 21st century woman.
Peer Gynt Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
PHOTO: MATTHIAS HORN
PERFORMANCE 18 SEPTEMBER
19:30
English surtitles
Director: Simon Stone. Set Designer: Bob Cousins Costume Designer: Alice Babidge Music: Lars Wittershagen Dramaturg: Sybille Meier Light Designer: Susanne Ressin With: Paul Herwig, Jonas Hien, Christoph Luser, Josef Ostendorf, Maria Schrader, Aljoscha Stadelmann, Ernst Stötzner, Bettina Stucky, Angela Winkler, Gala Othero Winter. And: Rolf Bach, Rene Rodrigues Batista, Uwe Behrmann, Niels Christenhuß, Steffen Gottschling, Mete Güner, Moritz Konjack, Maik Mensching, Fabian Rogall. Produced by Deutches SchauspielHaus Hamburg
The female Peer. “Why is it a lot more worrying when a woman behaves like Peer?” asks director Simon Stone. 21
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Water is thicker than blood! WATER GAMES (ZW) AN ADAPTATION OF HENRIK IBSEN’S AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER MLALAZI.
A German-Zimbabwean humour tragedy about dirty drinking water in the developing world.
But often it’s not only the water that is dirty: Authorities responsible of supplying cities with clean and healthy drinking water are also benefiting
An unnamed city is facing a looming health hazard – the drinking water has been contaminated by waste material from leaking sewer pipes. A doctor from the city’s health department has discovered this hazard, and he takes his results to the Mayor with recommendations on how this disaster can be averted. But the Mayor, who is the doctor's brother, accuses him of being an alarmist – an enemy of the people. Water Games is a fresh version of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the people, specially adapted for the current political and social situation in Zimbabwe. The performance discusses power structures, freedom of expression and the problems with water supplies – themes that applies to most countries in the developing world, where economically disadvantaged citizenry find themselves faced with dirty drinking water or acute water shortages.
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financially from this state of affairs. What happens when powerful institutions feel that their thriving businesses are threatened over the possibi-
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CALENDAR & MAP
Jens Vilela Neumann DIRECTOR
Jens Vilela Neumann is a theatre director who works internationally with various partners as an artistic director, lecturer, film-maker and author. The content of his work has mostly a political and social nature. He has already worked with numerous performers in different countries and cultural contexts, with professional actors in state theatres as well as in the free scene.
lity of clean water for their citizens? Water Games includes film, live music and a good dose of
humour – because the Zimbabwean audience loves to laugh in the theatre. Just like the Oslo audience does.
Water Games Nationaltheatret, Bakscenen
PHOTO: JENS VILELA NEUMANN
PERFORMANCE 9 SEPTEMBER
18:00
10 SEPTEMBER
14:00
10 SEPTEMBER
16:00
Performed in English
Director: Jens Vilela Neumann Music: Cornelius Mupondirio, Kudzai Sevenzo Set Design: Lena Newton Actors: Kudzai Sevenzo, Michael Kudakwashe, Tichaona Mutore Produced by Paradise Garden Productions
Humour tragedy. Water Games is a fresh version of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the people, specially adapted for the current political and social situation in Zimbabwe. 23
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New drama from Ibsen Award winner Arne Lygre LA DEG VÆRE (LET YOU BE) (NO) BY ARNE LYGRE.
Intimate and unrefined about loneliness and a sense of belonging. It is a warm summer night, and a group of boys drink beer and go for a swim. Two people come walking by. Everything goes wrong. Everybody involved needs someone with whom to share the incident. Someone to blame. They search for security, while life is destroyed. Who have you been, and who will you be when everything is turned upside down?
His beautiful, intimate and raw text is in safe artistic hands: the ground-breaking Rebecca Ringst is responsible for set design and costume design, while the young, up-and-coming Johannes Holmen Dahl directs. Holmen Dahl completed his degree from Kunsthøgskolen in Oslo summer 2015, and the last year he has worked at Dramaten in Stockholm, where he staged a critically acclaimed production of Barnet (The Child) by Jon Fosse.
In the performance Let you be this and other stories are told through the characters Person, Friend, Acquaintance, Stranger and Enemy. Every story and every encounter is connected, and the result is a tale about loneliness, severance, a sense of belonging and who we are to each other. But this is also a story about hope, mercy and love – and about who is by our side when the Earth shatters. Let you be is a new work by Arne Lygre, one of our leading playwrights. Since his debut in 1998, he has received the Brage Award and the Norwegian Ibsen Award, been acclaimed abroad and translated into 15 languages. Lygre is a resident playwright at Nationaltheatret.
Beautiful, intimate and raw. Let you be is a story about hope, mercy and love – and about who is by our side when the Earth shatters. 24
INTRODUCTION
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CALENDAR & MAP
Johannes Holmen Dahl DIRECTOR
Dahl is a young director with a master in direction from Kunsthøgskolen in Oslo. He has worked at Nationaltheatret before, but Let you be is his first full-scale production at the theatre. In spring 2016 he staged I lodjurets timma at Dramaten in Stockholm, where he has previously staged Jon Fosse’s Barnet (The Child).
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
Let you be Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
WORLD PREMIERE 9 SEPTEMBER
19:30
10 SEPTEMBER
18:00
17 SEPTEMBER
18:00
24 SEPTEMBER
15:00
English surtitles
Director: Johannes Holmen Dahl Set and Costume Design: Rebecca Ringst Light Design: Norunn Standal Make-up: Eva Sharp Dramaturg: Mari Vatne Kjeldstadli Actors: Tone Mostraum, Andrine Sæther, Glenn André Kaada, Hanne Skille Reitan and Olav Waastad. Produced by Nationaltheatret
The performance is part of The Big O. The Big O is a pilot for a new collaborative project made up of some of Norway’s leading cultural institutions and the most out-there culture enthusiasts. It is our pleasure to invite you to The Big O’s opening party on the 7th September, where there will be a taste of the project’s exciting and diverse programme and a chance to learn more about our plans for the future. 25
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INTERNATIONAL IBSEN AWARD 2016 WINNERS: FORCED ENTERTAINMENT
Groundbreaking
The award ceremony will be held at the National Theatre. In addition to the presentation of the award, there will be music and speaches at Hovedscenen. Following the ceremony there will be a reception in the Audience Foyer. Read more at internationalibsenaward.com
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Forced Entertainment revive and challenge the theatre, and recognise and utilise the power inherent in the art form.
CALENDAR & MAP
Award Ceremony Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
FROM THE COMMITTEE’S AWARD STATEMENT
23 SEPTEMBER
12:30
Followed by a reception in the Audience Foyer. Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no PHOTO: HUGO GLENDINNING
This year’s winner of the International Ibsen Award is the innovative British theatre company Forced Entertainment, which will be staging four productions at the Ibsen Festival. Forced Entertainment was founded by Tim Etchells in Sheffield in 1984, and since then the company has become known for their ground-breaking and genre-busting approach to theatre. They have particularly made a name for themselves in performance theatre, but have later also explored the untapped potential in video and digital platforms. According to Etchells: “All of our work, for us, approaches the question of what theatre might be now, how it can speak now, how it might connect with audiences now. …For us, theatre is always a kind of negotiation, something that thrives on its vivacity and its potential for debate and conversation.” 27
Forced Entertainment will be staging four productions during the 2016 festival. The Coming Storm, a prime example of the company’s distinctly anarchistic style, is a captivating collage shot through with black humour and accompanied by live music. The Notebook is also a slice of black humour, this time about a pair of twin brothers who during the Second World War live in social isolation with their impoverished grandmother in the countryside. And on the Thousandth Night…, which takes its title and its cue from One Thousand and One Nights, explores the relationship between a story and its tellers and audience. Eight kings and queens, dressed in cheap red capes and cardboard crowns, tell a story that keeps on taking new turns. Perhaps their tale is all the world’s stories rolled into one? In addition, Tim Etchells stages his solo performance A Broadcast/ Looping Pieces. READ MORE ABOUT
International Ibsen Awards
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INTERNATIONAL IBSEN AWARD
One of the world’s most prestigious theatre awards The award ceremony will take place at Nationaltheatret during the Ibsen Festival.
The International Ibsen Award, regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious theatre awards, was founded in 2007 and is awarded every second year. The winner is announced in March, and this year it was awarded to the British theatre company Forced Entertainment. The award ceremony will take place during the International Ibsen Festival at the National Theatre, where both the committee and Forced Entertainment will be in attendance. The winner receives 2.5 million
Norwegian kroner, funded by the Norwegian Government. In addition to the ceremony there will be a symposium dedicated to discussing Forced Entertainment’s oeuvre, and the group will stage three performances at the Ibsen Festival. The artistic director of Forced Entertainment, Tim Etchells, will also make an improvised solo performance as part of the festival programme.
atre community who have been appointed by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. Each member sits on the committee for four years. Proposals for new jury members are made by a wide range of cultural and theatrical institutions and organizations. The jury members travel all over the world to see performances associated with award nominees, and they hold several meetings before deciding on a winner.
The jury for the International Ibsen Award consists of seven prominent members of the the-
Previous winners of the award:
Peter Brook
Ariane Mnouchkine
Jon Fosse
Heiner Goebbels
Peter Handke
DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR
PLAYWRIGHT
DIRECTOR
AUTHOR
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INTRODUCTION
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SYMPOSIUM This is How it’s Going to Work: The Theatre of Forced Entertainment
International Ibsen Award Symposium Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
Read more: internationalibsenaward. com
Welcome to the symposium on the British performance company Forced Entertainment, the winner of the 2016 Ibsen International Award. The company is known researching the outer reaches of theatre, and the relationship between theatre, performance, play and reality. The company desires to both entertain as well as confuse the audience, and regards the live aspect as crucial to transforming the theatre into a negotiating space. Absurd, comical, gloomy and tragic are designations that are often used about the company’s
24. SEPTEMBER
10–14:45
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no Curator: Therese Bjørneboe
work, which according to the jury is marked by a serious attitude towards the role of theatre in society. Forced Entertainment develops their performances collectively, often without a finished text, and through improvisation or devising. The collective gives the works an important political dimension, which we will elucidate at the symposium. At the symposium, the artistic manager of the company, Tim Etchells, will speak with author and professor Adrian Heathfield. Joe Kelleher, a professor at the University
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of Roehampton, Séverine Ruseth-Penketh from Université de Stendahl in Grenoble and Sara Jane Bailes from Performance Studies at the University of Sussex will analyse the works of Forced Entertainment though their own research. The symposium will conclude with a discussion where the academic and practical perspectives will be tied together, and with participation of the company’s actors. Moderator: Dr. Camilla EegTverrbakk, dramaturg and Associate Professor at Høgskolen i Østfold/Akademi for scenekunst.
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Stories that have never been told AND ON THE THOUSANDTH NIGHT (UK) BY FORCED ENTERTAINMENT.
Seven Kings and Queens tell all the stories in the world – in one performance.
bits into their own tales. Their storytelling moves between tiredness and hysteria, between absurd vulgarity and surprising
And on the Thousandth Night takes its title and part of its inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights, and explores the live relationship between a story and its public, a story and its tellers. A story is told, made up live, dragged from memory by a line of seven performers dressed as Kings and Queens, wearing cheap red cloaks and cardboard crowns. It is a long, mutating and endlessly self-cancelling story. It is a story which somehow, in its many dips and turns, seems to include many — if not all — of the stories in the world. Moving from the extraordinary to the banal, it mixes everything from film plots, religious stories, children’s stories, traditional tales, jokes and modern myths, to scary stories, love stories and sex stories. The Kings and Queens compete, interrupting, exaggerating, taking over each other’s narratives and incorporating stolen 30
tenderness. At times, some of the Kings and Queens take a break to sleep on the floor at the back of the space whilst
INTRODUCTION
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their colleagues continue. At ten at night, perhaps, there are only two Kings left speaking, pushing on the tale, as one by
FESTIVAL FRINGE
one, the others come forward to rejoin the line.
CALENDAR & MAP
And on the Thousandth Night
PHOTO: HUGO GLENDINNING
Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
PERFORMANCE 24 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Performed in English Duration: 6 hours
Direction: Tim Etchells. Text: Tim Etchells and the company. Design and Lighting Design: Richard Lowdon. Performers: Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells, Jerry Killick, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O’Connor Produced by Forced Entertainment
Winner of the International Ibsen Award 2016!
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All the world’s stories. And on the Thousandth Night mixes everything from film plots, religious stories, children’s stories, traditional tales, jokes and modern myths, to scary stories, love stories and sex stories.
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Words paint such vivid pictures THE NOTEBOOK (UK) BY FORCED ENTERTAINMENT.
Based on the award winning novel by Ágota Kristóf and set during WW2, The Notebook tells the story of a pair of twin brothers evacuated to their impoverished grandmother’s farm in order to shelter from the conflict. These unnamed children are social outsiders, mavericks who survive and understand the world by a harsh private code. As the war deepens, the brothers are slowly revealed as struggling moralists, trying to live by consistent principles in a Central Europe crumbling into cruelty and opportunism.
humour from wartime hardships. Forced Entertainment performers Richard Lowdon and Robin Arthur stand side by side to tell their story in an unsettling and uncanny double act that traps two people in a single voice and a shared perspective. Kristóf’s narrational language – bold, crisp and reduced – provides the basis for a unique and compelling performance.
Directed by Tim Etchells, The Notebook is an unravelling knot of naïve logic, weaving dark and subversive
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CALENDAR & MAP
PHOTO: HUGO GLENDINNING
The Notebook Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
PERFORMANCE 22 SEPTEMBER
19:30
23 SEPTEMBER
19:30
Performed in English
Direction: Tim Etchells Design: Richard Lowdon Lighting Design: Jim Harrison Performers: Robin Arthur, Richard Lowdon The Notebook is a Forced Entertainment production. Co-produced by PACT Zollverein (Essen); LIFT (London) and 14–18 NOW, WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England. A House on Fire co-commission with HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), Kaaitheater (Brussels), Teatro Maria Matos (Lisbon), LIFT and Malta Festival Poznan with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union. Development work generously supported by Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts (LICA).
Winner of the International Ibsen Award 2016!
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Moralists. A pair of twin brothers try to live by consistent principles in a Central Europe crumbling into cruelty and opportunism. The Notebook is an unraveling knot of naïve logic, weaving dark and subversive humour from wartime hardships.
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Forced Entertainment at its best!
The Coming Storm Nationaltheatret, Hovedscenen
THE COMING STORM (UK) BY FORCED ENTERTAINMENT. PERFORMANCE
PHOTO: HUGO GLENDINNING
The winners of The International Ibsen Award 2016! In this performance, Forced Entertainment tangle and cross-cut multiple stories to make a compelling and unstable performance. From love and death to sex and laundry, from shipwrecks to falling snow, personal anecdotes rub shoulders with imaginary movies, and half-remembered novels bump into distorted fairytales. Using a method as inventive as it is absurd, six performers create, collaborate, ambush and disrupt this epic saga that is resolutely too big for the stage.
Winner of the International Ibsen Award 2016! The result is comical, contradictory and poignant; full of wrong-headed tricks, broken dances, sleazy drum interruptions and perfunctory piano accompaniment. Everything builds and everything shimmers. Everything teeters and everything trembles. Everything is reshaped and everything is cannibalized. The Coming Storm is Forced Entertainment at its best – trademark black humour, a collage of arresting images and an anarchic performance style.
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20 SEPTEMBER
19:30
21 SEPTEMBER
19:30
Performed in English
Director: Tim Etchells. Design: Richard Lowdon. Lighting Design: Nigel Edwards Music: Phil Hayes / Forced Entertainment. Music Consultant: John Avery. Director’s Assistant: Hester Chillingworth. Performers: Robin Arthur, Phil Hayes, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O’Connor Co-produced by PACT Zollverein Essen, Festival d’Avignon Avignon, Theaterhaus GessneralleZurich, Tanzquartier WienVienna, Les Spectacles Vivants – Centre Pompidou Paris, Festival d’Automne à Paris Paris,LIFT London, Battersea Arts Centre London and Sheffield City Council.
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A live remix of an artist’s notebook.
CALENDAR & MAP
A Broadcast/ Looping Pieces Black Box teater
A BROADCAST/LOOPING PIECES (UK) BY TIM ETCHELLS. PERFORMANCE 22 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Performed in English.
PHOTO: PIET JANSSENS
Conceived and performed by: Tim Etchells Produced by: Forced Entertainment
Tim Etchells
Winner of the International Ibsen Award 2016! A Broadcast / Looping Pieces is an improvised text and performance work by Tim Etchells. The heart of this mesmerising and provocative work is a live remixing of pages from Etchells notebook – a computer document in which, over many years, he has gathered texts of many different kinds. Fragments of overheard conversation, cut-paste quotations direct from newspaper articles and web pages, ideas for performances, rough drafts, and other notes sit side by side in this textual scrapbook.
textual scrapbook Etchells winds, intercuts, weaves and collides language – frequently looping and repeating on individual lines, at other times editing and re-writing on the fly, creating dialogues, juxtapositions and ambiguous collisions. Exploring archive, the process of writing and gathering, A Broadcast / Looping Pieces is an improvised window on Etchells’ approaches to text, exploring creative process, and the transformative power of performance itself.
Selecting passages from this 35
Tim Etchells has led the theatre company Forced Entertainment since its inception in 1984. In addition, he has developed an own artistic profile that includes performance, video, photography, text, installation, fiction and criticism. He has also collaborated with many visual artists, musicians, choreographers and photographers.
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What’s up with Hedda Gabler?
Hedda Gabler Nationaltheatret at Torshov
HEDDA GABLER (NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN. ADAPTED BY LARS ERIK HOLTER.
PERFORMANCE 16 SEPTEMBER
19:30
17 SEPTEMBER
14:00
17 SEPTEMBER
18:00
PHOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBY
Performed in Norwegian
Director: Lars Erik Holter Set and Costume Design: Bård Lie Thorbjørnsen. Composers: Jane Kelly and Sindre Hotvedt. Light Designer: Kåre Nordseth. Video Designer: Andreas Holm. Make-up: Julie Clark. Actors: Ragne Grande, Herman Bernhoft, Helle Haugsgjerd, Duc Mai-The and Åsmund Brede Eike. The script has been modernized by director Lars Erik Holter, and the production was played at Teater Innlandet in the autumn of 2015. Produced by Teater Innlandet.
What is wrong with Hedda Gabler? How can someone so beautiful be raving mad? Has she lost her grip on reality? What is wrong with Hedda Gabler? We are still captivated by this mysterious character. She is attractive, unpleasant and manipulative. Why? Teater Innlandet’s version of the Ibsen classic is rough, funny and vivid, and the actress in the eponymous role, Ragne Grande, has been critically acclaimed for her interpretation of Hedda Gabler. But Hedda is not the only fascinating aspect – the
production contains many enthralling human portraits in a compelling and exciting reality. The scenography is in itself a psychological situation report, framing a clear, powerful and insightful performance. The script has been modernized by director Lars Erik Holter, and the production was played at Teater Innlandet in autumn 2015.
A production without dead spots KLASSEKAMPEN
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Lars Erik Holter DIRECTOR
Lars Erik Holter has a degree from Kunsthøgskolen in Oslo, and has worked as an actor and a director at different theatres, in addition to producing his own pieces at free theatres. The Hedda-nominated director has also participated in the development of the education programme for acting studies at Kunsthøgskolen in Oslo, and has held positions as department head and main teacher in acting at the academy. Holter’s two productions during the 2006/2007 season, "Helten på den grønne øya" at Det Norske Teatret in Oslo and "Våre foreldres seksuelle nevroser" at Den Nationale Scene in Bergen, were both nominated for the Hedda Award for best direction. Holter now works as a freelance stage director and as acting professor at Teaterhøgskolen, KHIO.
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You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth. DR. STOCKMANN, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
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When Peer Gynt no longer knows who he is IBSEN: PEER GYNT (DE) BY MARKUS&MARKUS COLLECTIVE.
Peer Gynt as a dementia patient in a wild and radical version of Ibsen’s classic. Ibsen broke taboos. He looked into living rooms and developed dramas from real situations. He managed to use individuals as inspiration for his plays. But is it possible to turn this principle upside down: To find individuals whose problems have been described in the play, who cope with today’s conflicts and prejudices?
Someone who‘s no longer able to grasp reality or communicate properly, like dementia patients, are often at risk of being expelled from human society. Some philosophers even deny that dementia patients have person status. But Markus&Markus know that reality is a flexible construct. They have trusted their Peer and followed him into his world. They have walked alongside him, along a road with no walls, no boundaries and with no looking back.
In the radical theatre collective Markus&Markus’s version of Ibsen‘s classic, Peer Gynt is Herbert – an old man and dementia patient. A man who brings us to the boundaries of reality and fiction, who attacks our version of reality, develops theories on language and has fantastic insights.
The button-moulder wants to remould Peer’s soul into a grotesque lead figurine. He can prevent this fate only by proving that throughout his life he was truly himself. But what is one’s true self? And what is true when a person is no longer able to define themselves any longer?
Markus&Markus Collective COLLECTIVE
The theatre collective Markus&Markus from Hildesheim, Germany, has had a reputation for radical political theatre since 2011. Through the confrontation of documentations of reality with the stage as an illusion machine, the group blurs the borders between staging and reality. Their style is often described as "radically perfectionless". The collective’s productions have received awards - including an award from the Kapitalismusschredder ("Capitalism Shredder") festival - and have been invited to numerous festivals in Europe.
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PHOTO: PAULA REISSIG
Ibsen: Peer Gynt Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
PERFORMANCE 15 SEPTEMBER
19:30
16 SEPTEMBER
19:30
English surtitles
Markus&Markus means: Katarina Eckold ,Manuela Pirozzi, Lara-Joy Hamann, Markus Schäfer and Markus Wenzel IBSEN: PEER GYNT is part of Markus&Markus´ IBSEN:TRILOGY. Produced by Markus&Markus
Did you know: That IBSEN: PEER GYNT is full of popular culture references: Music from Game of Thrones, Interstellar and The Social Network, and songs by Pink Floyd, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
Peer as a dementia patient. What is one’s true self? And what is true when a person is no longer able to define themselves anymore? 39
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The fight over the next generation BORKMAN (NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN. ADAPTED BY GABRIELLA BUSSACKER AND JAN BOSSE.
When the next generation becomes the victim of a mid-life crisis. Former bank manager John Gabriel Borkman has served a sentence for embezzlement. Humiliated and bitter, he and his wife Gunhild have isolated themselves on separate floors of their house, and have no contact with each other. Throughout this time of crisis, their son, Erhart, has been taken care of by Gunhild’s twin sister, Ella Rentheim, who John Gabriel once chose not to marry, as a trade-off for prestige and power. Now Ella, and has returned to adopt Erhart and give him her own name. Gunhild refuses – Erhart is the person who must rebuild the honour of the Borkman family. But John Gabriel has in his solitude made other plans for his son’s future.
Leading German director Jan Bosse is known for developing an anarchistic joy in his productions, where the audience becomes an integral part of the performance. In this production of Henrik Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman, Amfiscenen is transformed into a public space, where the audience becomes part of the story. In Bosse’s version, the family drama is emphasized further. The sisters’ fight for the aging man in the house has become a desperate and suffocating battle over the son, between three lonely and bitter characters in their 40s. The three have almost no contact with each other, but even so they struggle to let each other go. They place all their hopes in the next generation – that it can set straight what went wrong in their own lives.
Jan Bosse DIRECTOR
Bosse is one of Germany’s leading directors. He has directed productions at the most influential German-speaking theatres in Europe, and has been the resident director at Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg for several years. Previously, Bosse has directed Ibsen’s Peer Gynt and Hedda Gabler. Borkman is his first production in Norway.
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INTRODUCTION
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CALENDAR & MAP
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
READ THE INTRODUCTION-ARTICLE
The Borkman challenge
Borkman Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
PERFORMANCE 12 SEPTEMBER
19:30
19 SEPTEMBER
19:30
English surtitles
Director: Jan Bosse Set Designer: Moritz Müller Costume Designer: Kathrin Plath Composer and Sound Designer: Arno Kraehahn Light Designer: Norunn Standal Make-up: Hege Ramstad Dramaturg: Gabriella Bussacker/ Olav Torbjørn Skare Actors: Jan Sælid, Laila Goody, Marika Enstad, John Emil Jørgensrud, Marian Saastad, Ottesen, Hedvig Topnes Hauge, Anna Christina Johansson, Isabel Andrea Casillas Sandersen Produced by Nationaltheatret
Ice cold. Borkman has in Jan Bosse’s direction become an ice cold family thriller and horror story, where you come close on the actors and action. 41
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Erik Edvardsen DIRECTOR OF THE IBSEN MUSEUM
The Borkman challenge Ibsen was an eager advocate for changing the form and parameters of drama. John Gabriel Borkman is a good example of this.
Henrik Ibsen is often called the father of modern drama. In his own lifetime he found that translations into languages such Persian and Japanese brought his works further out to the world than he could ever have imagined. He was also convinced that his plays were for the future. He therefore kept abreast of what was stirring and new in the world of drama. Ibsen was also quite a bit of a control freak, in modern parlance. But while he wrote very specific stage directions for each act, he also learned to express himself briefly, to compress his dialogue, so he could avoid later
abbreviations. The fact the directors and playwrights can later make adaptations, shift perspectives and change the focus only goes to show the power and strength of the original works. When the plays were new, directors felt much more bound to the text, and Ibsen was very active in the process of changing the form of plays and expanding the theatre’s boundaries – which John Gabriel Borkman (1896) is a good example of. In John Gabriel Borkman Ibsen introduced elements that challenged the theatre, for example the frequent shifts in the action 42
from the ground floor to the first floor, and the final walk in rising terrain toward the vista, with the star-studded sky in the background. In Kristiania (now Oslo) Jens Wang, the stage decorator, consulted with the dramatist himself. His tableaus were painted with motifs from Grefsen (a large hill with a restaurant and a tuberculosis asylum in Oslo), where Ibsen went on weekly visits to Dr. Sontum in the local water-cure spa. The final scene was solved using “moveable scenery” to create the illusion of the “changing natural landscapes” during the climb. Ibsen was
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Ibsen was very active in the process of changing the form of plays and expanding the boundaries of theatre.
very happy with this solution, and recommended that the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen send their set decorator, Thorolf Pedersen, to Oslo to study and receive instructions from Wang. The many quick changes of scenery between the floors obviously required knowledge about a novel invention – the revolving stage. This was such a modern device that it was hardly known beyond the Residenztheater in Munich. Carl Lautenschläger, stage machinist, had introduced his Dreh-Bühne for the performance of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni in May 1896, only a month before Ibsen sat down to write John Gabriel Borkman. When Ibsen now introduced additional changes of scene, which he earlier in his contemporary dramas had done his utmost to avoid, it may suggest that his aim went beyond the ordinary and that he wanted to spearhead development. The theatres, nonetheless, had to find other types of interim and not quite so smooth solutions to the challenge.
The new Nationale Scene in Bergen had a revolving stage when it opened in 1909, but no such device was installed in the National Theatre before 1917. But John Gabriel Borkman always has this intense drive towards new vistas and changing scenery, and to realities that even for a playwright such as Henrik Ibsen must have seemed astonishing.
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Erik Edvardsen is the director of the Ibsen Museum in Oslo. During the Ibsen Festival he will hold lectures on Ibsen and the National Theatre’s own Ibsen productions. What was Ibsen concerned about when he wrote? How were his plays received, and how do they relate to the trends in art and society?
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The family that made our little Europe into a monster LITTLE EUROPA (IT) BY GABRIELE PAOLOCÀ, BASED ON HENRIK IBSEN’S LITTLE EYOLF.
Meet little Europa – a child and a monster, who caused a rapture in his dysfunctional family.
bear to live with, and which causes the end of their love, and of that ideal of perfect union which had made them fall in love.
Imagine a transposition of Little Eyolf, in which Ibsen’s Rita Allmers becomes an upper-class Scandinavian woman, while Alfred Allmers becomes a daydreamer from Southern Europe: they are the parents of little Europa, a child with a rare, mysterious disease, a small monster, the cause of rupture in a dysfunctional family.
Whereas Ibsen’s characters watched the horizon over the mountains and saw a new, moral aim in life, in Little Europa there is nothing beyond the horizon. In its post-apocalyptical landscape, there will be no new moral, no taking of responsibility: the errors of the past have been forgotten, and nothing is there to make you think that mankind isn’t ready to repeat them.
In the performance Little Europa Europa isn’t the beautiful queen known from the myth, he is rather a relative of the bull who made her pregnant – a minotaurus who causes horror and at the same time pity. A child whom neither the Father nor the Mother can
Little Europa is the second chapter of VicoQuartoMazzini’s Ibsen trilogy, which investigates how Ibsen can speak into our contemporary world.
Michele Altamura and Gabriele Paolocà DIRECTORS
Michele Altamura and Gabriele Paolocà graduated from the Theatre Academy of Udine in 2010. They experiment with different constellations of actors and directors or actors-who-are-directors. In the last two years they have turned first to Pirandello and then to Ibsen, creating an Ibsen-trilogy, of which Little Europa is the second part.
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CALENDAR & MAP
PHOTO: ROBERT PALERMO
Little Europa Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
PERFORMANCE 13 SEPTEMBER
19:30
14 SEPTEMBER
16:00
14 SEPTEMBER
20:00
Performed in English
Directors: Michele Altamura and Gabriele Paolocà Set Design: Alessandro Ratti Sound Design and Music: Daniele de Virgilio Light Design: Daniele Passeri Costumes: Cristiana Suriani and Flavia Tomassi Technical Director:Stefano Rolla Technician: Marco Oligeri Actors: Michele Altamura, Gemma Carbone, Gabriele Paolocà, Maria Teresa Tanzarella Produced by VicoQuartoMazzini Company
The monster child. Little Europa is the child not even a mother can love and the cause of rupture in a dysfunctional family.
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Greek version of Ibsen’s final masterpiece ΌΤΑΝ ΞΥΠΝΉΣΟΥΜΕ ΕΜΕΊΣ ΟΙ ΝΕΚΡΟΊ (WHEN THE DEAD AWAKEN) (GS) BY HENRIK IBSEN.
A performance balancing between the realistic and the metaphysical, where five characters all are faced with death.
ces between the realistic and the metaphysical, and the five characters are all faced with death – the death itself, the death
The successful sculptor Arnold Rubek has lost his creative power since his model Irene left him after his refusal to yield to his emotions and to consider her as anything more than a model. Rubek takes his wife Maia to spend their vacation in the mountains of their homeland. During their stay they both have to confront their unhappy marriage – and Rubek is visited by his past when Irene appears. She seems to be in the grip of a “living death”. It all ends in a painful confrontation – and at the finale: a deadly avalanche. The performance Όταν ξυπνήσουμε εμείς οι νεκροί (When the Dead Awaken) is a research on the dilation and the contraction of time. In a land of entombed vacationing, five performers of different generations attempt to disengage from their restraints and get a glimpse of the Unobtainable. Ibsen’s text constantly balan46
of properties and the death of youth. They all try to come to life again, free from obstacles, tremors and entanglements.
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Dimitris Karantzas DIRECTOR
Dimitris Karantzas was born in Athens in 1987. He studied acting in “Empros” Drama School and Communication & Media Studies in the University of Athens. He has directed plays by Ibsen, Chekhov, Pinter, Euripides, Virginia Wolf, Pirantello, etc. He has collaborated with several Greek theatres, and his performances have been critically acclaimed. He teaches acting and he is one of the supervising directors in the National Theater of Greece’s Dramaturgy & Creative Writing Studio.
Their struggle is depicted – and at the same time criticized – in the performance through a strong sound dramaturgy and a
physically formalistic pattern of ballet-like moves, as if they are craving to perform a pirouette.
When the Dead Awaken Nationaltheatret, Bakscenen
PHOTO: GELI KALAMPAKA
PERFORMANCE 13 SEPTEMBER
12:00
13 SEPTEMBER
16:00
English surtitles
Director: Dimitris Karantzas. Assistant Director: Kelly Papadopoulou Choreographer: Zoi Hatziantoniou Sound Dramaturg: Dimitris Kamorotos Set Designer: Poulheria Tziova Light Design: Alekos Anastasiou Translation: Eri Kyrgia Production: Christina Polychroniadou Actor: Alexia Kaltsiki, Maria Kehagioglou , Periklis Moustakis, Reni Pittaki, Mihalis Sarantis and Menelaos Hazarakis A production by the Art Theater, Greece, sponsored by the Onassis Cultural Center.
The struggle of time. In a land of entombed vacationing, five performers of different generations attempt to disengage from their restraints and get a glimpse of the Unobtainable. 47
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A refreshing, stripped down "Dogme" version of A Doll’s House! GYERMEK (CHILD) (HU) BY HENRIK IBSEN. ADAPTED BY DOLLARDADDY’S.
A Dogma inspired, unique and intimate meeting with Ibsens A Doll’s House. Meet dollardaddy’s – one of the youngest Hungarian ensembles, true risk-takers in every sense: Experimenting on the boundaries of real life and theatre, in a minimalistic style with very little set or costume, re-narrating Ibsen and other classic playwrights, while keeping the characters, the situations and the conflicts, but speaking the lines in their own words. Their performance Gyermek (Child) has a completely stripped-down, intimate and personal format – without any props or costumes or any other usual stage technology. Their original acting style, inspired by the Dogma films, invites the audience to be part of a uniquely intimate relationship with the performers: They are seated inside the ”living-room”, everything
is happening just within their grasp. They don’t get involved, yet they can’t remain aloof and unavoidably become a part of the story. Every performance is different – every evening delivering a unique experience. Child is a part of dollardaddy’s Family trilogy, which also consists of Love (Henrik Ibsen’s Little Eyolf) and Home (August Strindberg’s The Pelican). The three different plays are only partially related to one another, but together they tell three different stories about family: The problems of coexistence within a family and the common communication trap caused by a far too intimate relationship.
dollardaddy’s TEATERENSEMBLE
Dollardaddy’s is founded by Emőke Kiss-Végh and Tamás Ördög, two young Hungarian actors and theatre-makers, known for their unorthodox shows and projects staged in flats and unusual venues. dollardaddy’s gained awareness and popularity with their project called Ibsen to my living room! (Hedda Gabler). 48
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The company is attracted by the rigours of the Dogme manifesto, and to that end, the only lighting is that found in the room, and the acting is fully naturalistic… All this is excellent ANDREW HAYDON, CRITIC
PHOTO: CSENGE LIGETVÁRI
Child Nationaltheatret, Malersalen
PERFORMANCE 14 SEPTEMBER
20:00
15 SEPTEMBER
16:00
English surtitles
Director: Tamás Ördög Music: Krisztián Vranik Costume, Nora’s dress: Je Suis Belle With: Emőke Kiss-Végh (Nóra Helmer), Tamás Ördög (Torvald Helmer, her husband), Annamária Láng (Lindéné, her friend) and Sándor Terhes (Krogstad) Produced by dollardaddy’s Trafo House of Contemporary Arts
Intimate. dollardaddy’s invites the audience to be part of a uniquely intimate relationship with the performers: They are seated inside the “living-room”, everything is happening just within their grasp. 49
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To live is to war with trolls. HENRIK IBSEN, POEMS
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Destructive passions, neglected children and the longing for love
The Dark Attic Westerdals/Campus Vulkan
MØRKELOFTET (THE DARK ATTIC) (NO)
PERFORMANCE
BASED ON HENRIK IBSEN’S LITTLE EYOLF AND THE WILD DUCK ADAPTED BY TRINE WIGGEN.
PHOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBY ILLUSTRATION: FABIAN CHRISTENSEN
A collaboration between Bayerische Theaterakademie August Everding (Teaterakademiet i Munchen) and Westerdals Oslo ACT. In the performance Mørkeloftet (The Dark Attic) we investigate Henrik Ibsen’s inspirations in folklore, fairy tales and myths. We open the door into the dark
attic of Ekdal’s studio, and the door into the darkness of the characters. Mørkeloftet (The Dark Attic) is about destructive passions, neglected children and the longing for love.
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CALENDAR & MAP
15 SEPTEMBER
20:00
16 SEPTEMBER
20:00
17 SEPTEMBER
20:00
Performed in Norwegian Tickets sold at the door
Direction/Sound/Room: Trine Wiggen Light: Thea Mæhlum Cast: Merchant Werle: Fabian Christensen Gregers Werle: Gorm A. F. Grømer Hjalmar Ekdal: Even Vesterhus/ Fabian Christensen Hedvig Ekdal: Cem Yeginer Gina Ekdal: Rebekka Jynge The Rat-wife: Ruben Rosbach Rita Allmers: Karoline Sandnes Stien Alfred Allmers: Emery Escher Eyolf Allmers: Venill Kravik
Trine Wiggen DIRECTOR
Educated at Statens Teaterhøgskole (1991-1994). She has worked as an actor at Den Nationale Scene, Oslo Nye Teater and Nationaltheatret, where she is permanently employed. Wiggen has won Gablerprisen and Heddaprisen and been nominated for both Amanda and Gullruten. Her debut as a director was with Fool for love in the spring of 2011, and she has also directed Vi som er hundre and Det merkelege som hende med hunden den natta at Det Norske Teatret.
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How to create meaning, when the whole world is a big ”huh?” GRØNLANDSŪTRAEN (THE GREENLAND SŪTRA) (NO) WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY FREDRIK HØYER. BASED ON THE COLLECTION OF POETRY GRØNLANDSUTRAEN, PUBLISHED BY FANFARE FORLAG AS PART OF THE PROJECT FERDIGSNAKKA.
Premiere of a work by Fredrik Høyer directed by Mattis Herman Nyquist! Greenland is and island between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans – but is also a metro stop in central Oslo. There are at least fifty words for ”snow” in Greenland. In the melting pot outside the subway and the Deli de Luca, there is a swarm of voices – a place in the little country of Norway where you can meet the whole world. Here you wander in a state of unease, the same thoughts spinning around in your mind. You pull the hood over your head and play a song. Not to think about it any longer. But it is already in motion.
Mattis Herman Nyquist, in his directorial debut. The monologue is based on the collection of poetry by the same name, published as a book and vinyl record under the literary concept Ferdigsnakka. In The Greenland Sūtra the theme is recycling: The main character’s worries and anxiety about the state of the world are something that come and go, as if in a loop. We hear and talk about the same things, again and again. Is it even possible to break out of negative spirals, vicious circles, the pattern of everyday life? Is it possible to connect all the loose words and thoughts, the fragmentary and the broken, and create meaning in chaos? And what is action, and what is just talk?
Grønlandsūtraen (The Greenland Sūtra) is written and performed by the writer and poet Fredrik Høyer.. The piece is adapted for the stage by
Fredrik Høyer WRITER AND POET
Fredrik Høyer is a Norwegian writer and poet from Drammen who lives in Oslo. He is best known for his eclectic spoken-word poetry performances, where he combines elements from rap, literature and theatre. Fredrik Høyer had his debut as a novelist in 2014 with Månehund & fatter’n, published by Aschehoug forlag
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Mattis Herman Nyquist DIRECTOR
Mattis Herman Nyquist is an actor at Nationaltheatret, and trained at Statens teaterhøgskole. He has played at Det Norske Teatret, Rogaland Teater and Riksteatret, received the Hedda Award for best actor, and has acted in several film and TV productions. His debut as a novelist was in 2015 with Det er jeg som er Torvald, published by Aschehoug.
PHOTO: MATTIS HERMAN NYQUIST
The Greenland Sūtra Nationaltheatret at Torshov
PERFORMANCE 21 SEPTEMBER
18:00
22 SEPTEMBER
18:00
23 SEPTEMBER
20:00
24 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Performed in Norwegian
Director: Mattis Herman Nyquist. Lighting Designer: Øyvind Wangensteen. Composer/Sound Designer: Gaute Tønder. On stage: Fredrik Høyer Produced by Høyer/Nyquist
The performance is part of The Big O.
The theme is recycling: The main character’s worries and anxiety about the state of the world are something that come and go, as if in a loop.
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The Big O is a pilot for a new collaborative project made up of some of Norway’s leading cultural institutions and the most out-there culture enthusiasts. It is our pleasure to invite you to The Big O’s opening party on the 7th September, where there will be a taste of the project’s exciting and diverse programme and a chance to learn more about our plans for the future.
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A rare chance to get to know Ibsen through his poems IBSENS SMÅ DJEVLER (IBSEN´S LITTLE DEVILS) (NO) BY LISE FJELDSTAD. BASED ON HENRIK IBSENS POEMS.
Enter the world of Ibsen’s hidden heart. Henrik Ibsen was a secluded person, a reserved man, a sphinx. Many people are familiar with his plays, but his poems are maybe not as well known. Ibsen himself called his poems ”little devils”. Now these "devils" are being scrutinized by Lise Fjeldstad, one of the leading actresses on the Norwegian theatre scene, who sees Ibsen’s poems through three pairs of glasses: scientific ones, empathic ones and fantasy ones. And what has she found? Can we come closer to Ibsen as a human being through his poems?
Fjeldstad does not approach the "little devils" on her own – alongside her is pianist Håvard Gimse, also an avid reader of poetry. Together, perhaps they can come up with some answers as to who Ibsen really was. And what can a piano player find in our great playwright’s deeper resonance? The result is a performance that can inspire further reading, resentment or joy. We hope the last one is the case! Welcome to Ibsen’s "hidden heart".
Håvard Gimse PIANIST
A pianist considered one of Norway’s foremost musicians. He plays concerts all over of the world, has visited Scandinavia’s most famous symphony orchestras and played under some of the world’s foremost conductors. He has received numerous prestigious awards, among others the Steinway Prize, the Grieg Prize, the Sibelius Prize and the Norwegian Critics Prize at the Bergen International Festival. 54
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Lise Fjeldstad DIRECTOR
Fjeldstad has a degree from Statens teaterhøgskole and had her debut at Nationaltheatret in 1975. Since then, she has worked with 50 productions, both as an actress and as a director. She has also been honoured with several awards and distinctions, among others the Swedish film award Guldbaggen, the Norwegian Amanda Award for best actress in a leading role, the Hedda Award, the Oslo City Cultural Award, and both Knight 1st class and Commander with Star of The Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav.
PHOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBY
Ibsen´s little devils Nationaltheatret, Amfiscenen
PERFORMANCE 20 SEPTEMBER
19:30
Performed in Norwegian
Director: Lise Fjeldstad On stage: Lise Fjeldstad and Håvard Gimse. Produced by Fjeldstad/Gimse
The little devils. Ibsen called his poems little devils. Now these «devils» are being scrutinized by Lise Fjeldstad. 55
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All or nothing BRAND –MIN GUD ER STORM (BRAND –MY GOD IS STORM) (NO) BY ARMIN PETRAS. ADAPTED FROM HENRIK IBSEN. TRANSLATED BY KRISTIAN LYKKESLET STRØMSKAG.
Would you dare sacrifice everything for what you believe in?
where God, country and the dream of America are central ideals – this is a place where idealism and fundamentalism
can co-exist and flourish. This theatrical universe – the language and the intimacy of
Brand has an unshakable belief that people can overcome anything, but do not however exploit their vast potential. He wants to re-establish man’s greatness on Earth, but to achieve greatness, man must have a belief in his own potential. When Brand returns to his birthplace, he realizes that he must begin his struggle where he comes from – within himself. His uncompromising beliefs are crushing, and soon he is forced to acknowledge that his convictions must give way when ideas are confronted by reality. Brand is one of Henrik Ibsen’s longer epic dramas, written 150 years ago this year. Adapted by the German director, theatre manager and writer Armin Petras, the story and number of roles are stripped back. The language is modernized to make the interpersonal relations clearer and the humour more obvious.
Only ever a little / Take a look at our country and you’ll see that every single man and woman are only half awake / a little loyal to their loved ones / a little fun at parties / a little moved when people suffer / only ever a little (Brand)
Director Runar Hodne sets the play in a Norwegian province, 56
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Runar Hodne
CALENDAR & MAP
READ THE INTRODUCTION-ARTICLE
DIRECTOR
Approaching Brand
Runar Hodne has a degree in direction from Statens Teaterhøgskole. He has directed several productions at Nationaltheatret. In 2001 he received the Hedda Award for best direction with Nokon kjem til å komme and the Reumert Award for Anna Karenina at Aalborg Teater.
Brand –my god is storm Nationaltheatret, Malersalen
Malersalen – bring us even closer to the truth of the story: How far does our own commitment reach? How much are we willing to sacri-
fice for what we believe?
PREMIERE 10 SEPTEMBER
18:30
12 SEPTEMBER
20:00
22 SEPTEMBER
13:00
22 SEPTEMBER
20:00
23 SEPTEMBER
16:00
24 SEPTEMBER
12:00
English surtitles
Director: Runar Hodne Concept/Light Designer: Andreas Fuchs Set Designer: Hazel Barstow (Akademi for scenekunst/UiØ) Costume Designer: Cathrine Engehagen Bråthen Make-up: Terje Rødsjø (Stockholms dramatiska högskola) with Greta Bremseth as supervisor Dramaturg: Kristian Lykkeslet Strømskag Actors: Henrik Rafaelsen, Kjersti Botn Sandal, Espen Klouman Høiner, Per Frisch, Tone Danielsen, Marianne Stormoen and Per Egil Aske. Produced by Nationaltheatret The performance is part of The Big O.
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
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The Big O is a pilot for a new collaborative project made up of some of Norway’s leading cultural institutions and the most out-there culture enthusiasts. It is our pleasure to invite you to The Big O’s opening party on the 7th September, where there will be a taste of the project’s exciting and diverse programme and a chance to learn more about our plans for the future.
IBSENFESTIVAL 2016
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IBSENFESTIVALEN.NO
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TEL: 815 00 811
Erik Edvardsen DIRECTOR OF THE IBSEN MUSEUM
Approaching Brand Ibsen struggled for a long time to find the right form for Brand, but when the play was finally published, it hit the cultural scene like a bomb. The book caused an uproar in Christian communities, but also represented Ibsen’s Scandinavian breakthrough.
When in 1864 Henrik Ibsen took his family to live in Rome, he had just achieved success with Kongs-Emnerne (The Pretenders), both as a book and as a play. Ibsen had also had success with his long narrative poems, Paa Vidderne (On the Heights) and Terje Vigen. At a distance from the theatre, he decided to write more in this genre. His journey south in April and May through a Denmark scarred by war and through the victorious German states after the conquest of Schleswig-Holstein gave him ideas and also painful impressions. Using Kold (meaning in Norwegian a hill or small peak) as his
working title, Ibsen embarked on a long epic poem. When he later had doubts whether he ought to change the name to Brand [”fire” in Norwegian], his clever son Sigurd, aged five, proposed that the main character could be called Koldbrand [Norwegian for gangrene], which Ibsen did not find amusing at all. Ibsen was a fabulous master of rhyme, but in spite of his skills, he found it difficult to maintain the same intensity as when writing dialogue. But finally in the summer of 1865, during a stay in the artists’ guest house La Locanda Martorelli in Aric58
cia, he had an epiphany about Brand. He made a trip to Rome, also visiting St. Peter’s Basilica. On 12 September 1865 he wrote to his fellow Norwegian author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson that he had long been plagued as if by ”a nightmare” by the subject, but that while visiting the church he had realised what he had to do: ”– Now I have cast away what has pained me for more than a year without getting anywhere, and in the middle of July I started something new, which progressed in a way that nothing has ever done for me before. It is new in the sense that I then starting writing…”
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The publication of the book caused violent reactions in Christian communities and was commented on in the Sunday sermons.
Ibsen also disclosed that he was working on a dramatic poem and that he would soon be starting the fifth and final act. Might it have been the grand artwork in the church, in contrast to the sincere and simple religious mood among the farmers in the village that led Ibsen to the idea of having Brand close the church and lead his whole congregation out into God’s free countryside? Could it also concern the form? He chose to write the work as a play, but only for reading, a verse tragedy, totally ignoring the stage and its limitations. If Brand were to be played in its entirety, it would take between six and seven hours to perform. By writing a so-called closet drama, as he also did with Peer Gynt and the drama Kejser og Galilæer (Emperor and Galilean), it was possible to depict people on their journeys: Brand starts his journey on a glacier in the mountains, descending through the narrow valley to the district where the sunshine barely reaches, and then embarking on a crossing of the stormy fjord. The break from practical considerations that Brand and the subsequent closet dramas represented, ensured the development of the poet’s talent and also introduced new perspectives.
The background for Brand was the broken promises of providing assistance to Denmark in the war to retain Schleswig-Holstein, but the publication of the book caused violent reactions in Christian communities and was commented on in the Sunday sermons, including in the Cathedral in Kristiania (now Oslo). The lines were drawn between academics, who welcomed the challenge of a drama of ideas, and theologians, who believed that Brand was suffering from an old-testament misconception. Krohg, the vicar of Vestnes, who after a controversy with Ibsen may have borrowed characteristics of Ibsen’s provost, attacked Agnes’ dialogue when she said there were three on board when she chose to step into the boat with Brand: Even if God joined them on the voyage, it was not common to count him in. Consequently, the boyfriend she left must have made her pregnant. And if Alf was not the son of Brand, he should lose his office for having sacrificed the boy for the meaningless demand for ”nothing or everything” – nought or all. Later, the author Laura Kieler, who almost experienced the fate of Nora, sought to calm the waters with her debut novel Brands Døtre [Brand’s daughters]. The conflicting parties agreed 59
on one thing, however, that Henrik Ibsen was by far the master of Nordic literature. To be able to later return to the stage with dramas about contemporary issues in closed living-room interiors, it may have been necessary for Ibsen to air the major issues in life in such a genre. It has also later proved technically feasible to put these closet dramas on the stage and include them in theatre repertoires.
Erik Edvardsen is the director of the Ibsen Museum in Oslo. During the Ibsen Festival he will hold lectures on Ibsen and the National Theatre’s own Ibsen productions. What was Ibsen concerned about when he wrote? How were his plays received, and how do they relate to the trends in art and society?
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High stakes in power and love SAMFUNNETS STØTTER (THE PILLARS OF SOCIETY) (NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN.
Exciting as a crime story, fiery as a romantic novel, topical as the 9 o’clock news. Samfunnets støtter (The Pillars of Society) is Ibsen at his most entertaining. The play is about romantic infidelity, lies and secrets – and especially honour, career and sly business practices. Everyone admires Consul Bernick, an exemplary family man, who creates jobs and takes a responsibility for economic growth in his city. Little do people know that this visionary pillar of society has built his career and marriage on a lie. When the truth about the past forces itself to the surface, he has to find a way
to salvage his reputation. But is he a penitent sinner, or is this once again just a facade? Danish director and former head of Betty Nansen Teatret, Peter Langdal, is known for his immersive productions of the classics. Together with a top team of eleven actors, he creates an Ibsen classic with a clear finger pointed towards our own time.
Peter Langdal DIRECTOR
Artistic director for the influential Betty Nansen Theatre in Copenhagen for 23 years and one of Scandinavia’s most sought after instructors. The award-winning director is known for his work with the classics. After The Pillars of Society he will be directing at the Opera House in Lyon, Dramaten in Stockholm and the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.
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Solid as a rock (...), well played by a star-studded cast
Fast and intense Ibsen (...) this will appeal to a lot of people
Relevant and funny about the power of double standards
FÆDRELANDSVENNEN
NRK
DAGBLADET
High entertainment value
The lie, the truth and freedom (...) a theatrical roundabout
Vivid, good theatre
VG
VÅRT LAND
AFTENPOSTEN
PHOTO: L-P LORENTZ
The Pillars of Society Riksteatret in Nydalen
PERFORMANCE 11 SEPTEMBER
19:00
12 SEPTEMBER
15:00
12 SEPTEMBER
19:00
Performed in Norwegian
Director: Peter Langdal. Set Design: Nicolaj Spangaa. Costume Design: Karin Betz. Co-designer Costumes: Henrik Børgesen. Light Design: Marianne Thallaug Wedset. Sound Design: Nils Wingerei. Dramaturg: Tine Thomassen. Director’s Assistant Pernille Skaansar. Producer: Rebecca Mathisen Cast: Kim Haugen, Iren Reppen, Anne Ryg, Per Christian Ellefsen, John S. Kristensen, Ida C. Klem, Julie Støp Husby, Nils Golberg Mulvik, Victor Berg, Daniel Karlsson and Martin Lotherington Samfunnets støtter (The Pillars of Society) is a production staged as a collaboration between Riksteatret and Nationaltheatret.
Lies and secrets. When the truth about the past forces itself to the surface, consul Bernick has to find a way to salvage his reputation. But is he a penitent sinner, or is this once again just a facade? 61
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An updated and experimental Hedda HEDDA GABLER (SE/NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN. ADAPTED BY ANNA PETTERSON.
A visually experimental deconstruction of one of Ibsen’s classic works. Hedda Gabler is one of Henrik Ibsen’s most durable masterpieces. The tale about the frustrated woman who is trapped in patriarchal social structures, out of which she feels an increasingly desperate need to escape, was written in 1890. It has been staged on several occasions at Dramaten, and the 1964 production was directed by Ingmar Bergman. He also directed it at the National Theatre in London in 1970 and at the Residenztheater in Munich in 1977. Anna Pettersson appeared in the title role herself in the celebrated production at Stockholms City Theatre in 1998. These days she is primarily a director, rather than an actor, having staged an acclaimed production of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at Dramaten. She is continuing to explore Ibsen in an equally pared down format with an equally radical
attitude in her interpretation of Hedda Gabler at Lejonkulan. Electra Hallman in the title role is the only actor who is physically present on the stage. She interacts with video projections of the three characters who circle around Hedda Gabler: Jörgen Tesman, Assesor Brack and Ejlert Lövborg. Anna Pettersson continues to examine how the naturalistic dramas that have become classics over the years, familiar and comfortable to the public, should be able to grip the public in the same way as when they exploded on to the stage in the late 1800s. How can they be deconstructed and made to shock again? The stage design was created by Anna Pettersson together with Jan Lundberg. The past and the present exist in parallel, and dreamlike passages break up the psychologically realistic style that is associated with the play. Meet a new Hedda Gabler.
Anna Pettersson DIRECTOR
Anna Pettersson is a director, actor and PhD at Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts. She has appeared in a number of productions at Stockholm stadsteater and Dramaten, and has directed a dozen productions. Her version of Miss Julie at Strindbergs Intima Teater was awarded with TCO’s Culture Prize, Swedish Theatre Critics price and DN’s Culture Prize. 62
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PHOTO: SÖREN VILKS
Hedda Gabler Nationaltheatret, Malersalen
PERFORMANCE 17 SEPTEMBER
20:00
18 SEPTEMBER
16:00
English surtitles
Director: Anna Pettersson Set Designer: Anna Pettersson/Jan Lundberg. Costume Designer: Jan Lundberg. Music: Gustave Lund. Film production: Klaus Hjertberg, Dallas Motion Agency. Light Design: Magnus Pettersson. Make-up: Thea Holmberg Kristensen Actors: Electra Hallman, Mattis Herman Nyquist, Kim Haugen and Eindride Eidsvold. Produced by Dramaten (Sweden) and Nationaltheatret.
Visual deconstruction. With Ibsen’s home in Oslo as a starting point, the past and the present exist in parallel, and dreamlike passages break up the psychologically realistic style that is associated with Hedda Gabler. 63
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A real tragedy should entice fear and pity (Aristotle, 335 B.C.)
MONSTERS OF REALITY – THE MIMESIS MACHINE (NO/GR) CONCEPT/PRODUCTION: SIRI FORBERG.
A constellation of invited artists from Norway and Greece will fill the gilded corridors with live performance, installations and interactions, using fiction to get at truth. From their differing standpoints they will share their responses to historical and contemporary ideas about ritual, identification, imitation and reality. In February 2016, a constellation of Norwegian artists and theatre-workers travelled to Athens in an attempt to trace the ancient theory of mimesis which lies at the core of the entire history of Western discourse surrounding representational art and its values. It has been an obsessive concern for artists and philosophers for thousands of years, but the term might also be considered a curious relic from the past.
been subjected to claims of suffering a ”crisis of representation”. In our times this concerns a discourse related to concepts of truth and reality, or rather the deconstruction of them - a theoretical debate that mostly has engaged Western philosophy. We should perhaps also turn our minds to another very real crisis of representation. The European Union is creaking at the joints and there is an increasing distrust in a true and just democratic representation. The Ibsen Festival website will be updated with detailed program information as it becomes available: www.ibsenfestivalen.no/eng-monster
Monsters of Reality uses the axis Oslo–Athens as a starting-point for an artistic investigation. In doing so, this happening will establish a line between two geographical and cultural poles, exploring where these European (op)positions reflect each other and the esthetic and social drama of the ancient past and society today. Ever since Plato laid the foundations for the concept of mimesis, theatre has 64
the
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This is a poignant moment in Europe’s history. For this is the moment when Europe’s democratic soul is being buried. In Athens where it was born.
YANIS VAROUSFAKIS
PHOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBYE. LAYOUT: TIMON BOTEZ.
Monsters of Reality - The Mimesis Machine Nationaltheatret
PERFORMANCE MANIFESTATION 25 SEPTEMBER
Monsters of reality
e MiMesis Machine
13:00
Concept/Production: Siri Forberg Dramaturge/Production: Marit G. Eggen Production assistant: Frances Gerono Artists: Blindspot theatre group (Yota Argyropoulou & Michalis Konstantatos) (GR), Rafika Chawishe (GR), Trine Falch (NO), Crispin Gurholt (NO), influx artist collective (Charis Pechlivanidis & Korina Vasileiadou) (GR), Victoria Meirik (NO), Poka-Yio (GR), Pia Maria Roll (NO), Helle Siljeholm (NO), Mona Solhaug (NO), Bo Krister Wallström (NO) and Universet (Kenneth Ishak & Bård Torgersen). The project is funded by the Norwegian Arts Council and KORO. We are collaborating with the Norwegian Center for New Playwriting, the National Theatre, the Norwegian Embassy in Athens and the Norwegian Institute of Athens.
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A feast for the eyes!
Rotating Nora Riksscenen
ROTATING NORA (NO) PRODUCED BY INGUN BJØRNSGAARD PROSJEKT IN COLLABORATION WITH DANSENS HUS (THE HOUSE OF DANCE).
DANCE 21 SEPTEMBER
22.00
PHOTO: ERIK BERG
Choreographer: Ingun Bjørnsgaard Composer: Eivind Buene Set Designer: Thomas Bjørk Costume Designer: Ane Aasheim Lighting Design: Lutz Deppe Sound Design: Morten Pettersen Dramaturg: Kai Johnsen Dancers: Mattias Ekholm, Erik Rulin, Ida Wigdel, Matias Rønningen, Marianne Haugli and Catharina Vehre Gresslien. Produced by: Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt in collaboration with Dansens Hus (The House of Dance)
The acclaimed choreographer Ingun Bjørnsgaard puts ambivalence in the position of queen with her dancing Nora. In A Doll’s House, the traditional male and female is in an ambiguous zone. Power relationships, love, sexuality and motherhood are part of complex patterns. Dance has a historical grounding in the feminine. Through dance history we have met a silent woman. But Nora is a talking woman. Or is she? In Rotating Nora, Ingun Bjørnsgaard grabs hold of Ibsen’s most famous female character, Nora. One of Norway’s foremost
choreographers continues her immersion in Ibsen’s works. In past performances, she has drawn inspiration from The Lady from the Sea and Hedda Gabler. Archetypal fragments from A Doll’s House is reworked and inserted into new contexts with the unmistakable signature of Bjørnsgaard. In Rotating Nora, the dancers and the choreographer seek out and indulge in collisions between requirements and expectations, between the sublime and the obscene, between desires and needs. Ambivalence is queen, and there is a dominating feeling of having gone astray. The tragicomic humanness becomes visible, imperfect and perfect. In motion. 66
Ingun Bjørnsgaard CHOREAOGRAPHER
Ingun Bjørnsgaard is educated at Statens Balletthøgskole and has danced at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York. She has been rewarded with a number of prestigious prizes and works with prominent companies such as the Norwegian National Ballet, Carte Blanche, CCN - Ballet de Lorraine, Tanztheater Bremen, Komische Oper, Berlin and GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. Through her own company, she has been able to follow her artistic vision together with an outstanding ensemble of dancers. Ingun Bjørnsgaard’s company enjoys funding through the Arts Council Norway.
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Really to sin you have to be serious about it. BUTTON-MOULDER, PEER GYNT
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Get close to Hedda Gabler from the inside of Hedda’s house HEDDA GABLER AT SÆTERHYTTEN (NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN. IDEA AND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT BY JUNI DAHR.
One of the most intimate stage in the Ibsen festival is not a stage at all. You might be one of the lucky ones to receive an invitation into the living-room of Hedda Gabler, at Sæterhytten, Bygdøy. There, you will experience Ibsen from the inside of Hedda’s house. You can not get closer than you will during this performance.
To tour a site specific performance of Hedda Gabler is a challenge, the intimate spaces are carefully chosen and adjustments made as the ensemble
Juni Dahr is the artistic director of Visjoner Teater, an actor-based theater. She has developed a distinct artistic profile, which is unique in the Norwegian theater landscape, and the performances have appeared in several international theater festivals. The venues are often non-traditional. Visjoner Teater and Juni Dahr has received several awards for their artistic work. Hedda Gabler at Sæterhytten was nominated for The Hedda Award 2011 for “outstanding artistic achievement.” Hedda Gabler was in Iran at the Int. Fadjr Festival in 2016, at the International Teaterfestival of Almada, Lisboa Portugal in July 2016 and will go to Japan in November 2016 and to Romania in 2017. 68
move into a small house, with a new environment. Visjoner Teater often uses the nature and the outside as performing space as well.
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Juni Dahr IDEA AND CONCEPT
Juni Dahr is a leading Norwegian actress who has been a member of the repertory company of the National Theatre of Bergen for 12 years. Trained at the State Academy of Performing Arts in Oslo, she has played many of the great classics as well as modern experimental drama. In 1989 she received a Fullbright fellowship centred on the project “Female Legends” and formed her own company, Visjoner Teater, in order to explore the lives of legendary female characters and create independent theatre and film productions.
form a part of Hedda Gabler’s world, with daylight slowly fading, the city in the distance, sky, trees and birds.
PHOTO: ANDERS LIEN
The original small house, Sæterhytten, a part of The Royal Estate at Bygdø, adds a new dimension to Hedda Gabler. The environment and landscape
Hedda Gabler Sæterhytten in Bygdøy
PERFORMANCE 13 SEPTEMBER
15:00
14 SEPTEMBER
15:00
15 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Performed in Norwegian
Idea and performance concept: Juni Dahr Director: Juni Dahr and Tonje Gotschalksen with the actors Text Adaptation: Juni Dahr and Tonje Gotschalksen Costume Designer: Silje Fjellberg Producer: Marianne Roland Hedda Gabler: Juni Dahr Jørgen Tesman: Lars Øyno Eilert Løvborg: Hauk Heyerdahl Judge Brack: Kai Remlov Thea Elvsted: Nina Woxholtt Produced by Visjoner Teater.
Hedda from the inside. You might be one of the lucky ones to receive an invitation into the living-room of Hedda Gabler, at Sæterhytten, Bygdøy. There, you will experience Ibsen from the inside of Hedda’s house. 69
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A young and experimental Ibsen in an action-filled royal drama KONGSEMNERNE MINUTT FOR MINUTT (THE PRETENDERS – A STAGED READING) (SE/NO) BY HENRIK IBSEN.
Get ready for a staged reading of one of Ibsen’s most immense works. In the first half of the thirteenth century, there are several candidates to inherit the Norwegian crown after the king dies, unmarried without any clear heir. Håkon Håkonssøn, the late king’s illegitimate son, claims he is the rightful heir: he has been given a mission from God to unite Norway into one people. But the royal guardian Skule Jarl has a different opinion – he does not think Håkon has any legitimate claim to the throne. Instead, he himself should be placed in power. And behind the scenes, bishop Niklas lurks, creating doubts, chaos and intrigue – both before and after his death ...
minutt (The Pretenders, a staged reading) is an action-filled royal drama, and perhaps we will also witness wild and intense dancing? And naive and grotesque cardboard scenography? Or full-blown pyrotechnics? Get ready for a staged reading of one of Ibsen’s most immense works, a play that is seldom performed, but deserves a place on stage.
This is the background to the large-scale power struggle in Henrik Ibsen’s The Pretenders, an historic five act play, successfully staged by student director Marie Nikazm Bakken and set designer and costume designer Fredrik Floen in summer 2015 as a six-hour marathon production at Otta in Gudbrandsdalen. This time the duo has been inspired by the Slow-TV hit show "minute by minute", approaching the play in recital form. But this does not mean the show is slow: Kongsemnerne minutt for 70
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Marie Nikazm Bakken DIRECTOR
Marie Nikazm Bakken is studying for a BA in directing at Stockholms Dramatiska Högskola, where she will complete her degree in spring 2017. She also has a degree from The School of Contemporary Dance and has studied theatre science at the University of Oslo. In 2015 she directed The Pretenders by Henrik Ibsen as a Viking drama at Otta in Gudbrandsdalen, in collaboration with costume designer Fredrik Floen.
PHOTO: YURY ROGACHEV
The Pretenders – a staged reading Nationaltheatret, Audience Foyer
PERFORMANCE 16 SEPTEMBER
17:00
17 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Performed in Norwegian
Director: Marie Nikazm Bakken Set Designer and Costume Designer: Fredrik Floen (student ved MA kostyme ved KhiO) Dramaturg and Pedagogical Supervisor: Njål Helge Mjøs Advisor from StDH: Hilda Hellwig Actors: Håkon Ramstad, Sigurd Myhre, Anne Krigsvoll, Ellen Horn and Mari Strand Ferstad Produced by Nationaltheatret
The Pretenders – minute by minute. A staged reading of one of Ibsen’s most immense works.
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The best in Nordic theatre! NEW NORDIC DRAMA (NO/FO/DK/SE/IS/FI) BY CECILIE LØVEID, MARJUN S. KJELNÆS, PETER ASMUSSEN, PAULA S. ÖHMAN, ANTTI HIETALA AND SIGURÐ PÁLSSON.
New Nordic Drama is a team of professional performing artists gathered to give the audience readings of the best Nordic plays. Excerpts from six Nordic texts are presented as dramatized readings (6 x 30 minutes marathon). The ensemble exists of actors from the Nordic countries, directed by Ria Tórgarð (FO), Jens Albinus (DK) and Öllegård Cecilia Groundstroem (SE). The aim is to present and unite playwrights and actors from the six Nordic countries: A jury from each country has chosen the best play written and staged during the period January 2014 – December 2015 . Dramatikkens hus in partnership with the jury of Norwegian Ibsen Award has chosen Visning (The Viewing) by Cecilie Løveid, winner of Norwegian Ibsen Award 2015. Dramatikkens hus/ Norwegian Center for New Playwriting is responsible for developing new dramatic text in Norway. Professional artists can apply for funding to write, use of dramaturg and resources towards workshops/readings. 72
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Experience these six plays: Norway: Visning by Cecilie Løveid. Faroe Islands: Tóm Rúm (Empty rooms) by Marjun Syderbø Kjelnæs. Denmark: Soli deo Gloria by Peter Asmussen. Sweden: People respect me now by Paula Stenström Öhman. Finland: Ihanat Ihmiset (Lovely People) by Antti Hietala. Iceland: Segulsvið (Magnetic Fields) by Sigurð Pálsson
PHOTO: HUSETS TEATER DK, 2016
New Nordic Drama Dramatikkens hus
READING 18 SEPTEMBER
17:00
English surtitles
Actors: Nicolaj Falck and Durita Dahl Andreassen (Faro Islands), Hannes Óli Agustsson and Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir (Iceland), Brian Hjulmann Nielsen and Marina Bouras (Denmark), Hauk Heyerdahl and Anne Ryg (Norway), Henrik Hellström and Eva Melander (Sweden), Jussi Olavi Nikkilä and Lotta Emilia Kaihua (Finland).
Further information New Nordic Drama has been developed by the Nordic Performing Arts Network, a board of representatives from the Nordic ITI-centers. Read more about the reading-festival here: http://www.nordicperformingartsdays.fo/new-nordic-drama/
The Nordic juries consist of: Faroe Islands: Vár Berghamar Jacobsen, Sóley Danielsen and Paula Gaard Denmark: Mette Garfield, Jakob Højgaard & Christina Wendelboe Sweden: Lis Hellström Sveningson, Anders Duus, Judit Benedek and Birgit Hageby Norway: The Ibsen Award jury Finland: TINFO - Theatre Info Finland Iceland: Jórunn Sigurðardóttir, Kristín Ómarsdóttir and Magnús Þór Þorbergsson
New Nordic Drama is financed by:
The best Nordic plays. In New Nordic Drama excerpts from six Nordic texts are presented as dramatized readings. 73
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A farce about the refugee crisis NOEN KOMMER TIL Ă… KOMME (AH! AH! AH! AH!) / SOMEONE IS GOING TO COME (AH! AH! AH! AH!) (NO) BY SARA LI STENSRUD.
A frolicking in fear, defence and fantastical notions acted out with the repertoire of farce. It goes without saying that warm blankets promise too much. It goes without saying that soft pillows give false hope. It goes without saying that a lavish plate of fruit breeds hands grasping at the plate. It goes without saying that the more chairs you put out, the more people will sit. It goes without saying that an attractive table makes it attractive to seek refuge under the table. It goes without saying that a sofa is not something that should be taken for granted. It goes without saying that poverty is nothing to be ashamed of. It goes without saying that shame is an emotion rich in emotions. It goes without saying that you can drown in money without feeling a thing. It goes without saying that it is better to drown in money, than to drown in the ocean. It goes without saying that the first million is the hardest. It goes without saying that it is easier to live in the moment if you live. It goes without saying that you have to avoid dying if you want to seize the day.
Someone is going to come (The Ah!-version) is a comedy about our crisis with the refugees – a frolicking in fear, defence and fantastical notions acted out with the repertoire of farce. With gross exaggeration, hel-
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pless caricature, uncontrolled body parts and slamming doors, author, playwright and director Sara Li Stensrud creates an intimate drama for our brave new world of perfection, performance and flexible competence,
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Sara Li Stensrud WRITER AND DIRECTOR
Sara Li Stensrud is an author and theatre creator. She has written children’s books, poetry and a book of fairy tales for grown-ups, and she made her debut as a playwright in 2012 with the performance Lykkelig til mine dagers ende, staged in co-operation with actor Ine Wilmann (Black Box). Stensrud runs the travelling theatre Didactic Puppet Theatre.
in singular contrast to the suffering surrounding us. Someone is going to come (The Ah!-version) is a collision between frantic, flapping bodies and bodies devoid of life – a fatal farce
that confirms what you think, but do not dare to say out loud: that it is a bit difficult to tell the difference between an orgasm and a death spasm.
Someone is going to come (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!) Nationaltheatret, Malersalen
PHOTO: SARA LI STENSRUD
PERFORMANCE 19 SEPTEMBER
20:00
20 SEPTEMBER
20:00
21 SEPTEMBER
16:00
Performed in Norwegian
Text, direction, set design: Sara Li Stensrud. Actors: Madalena Sousa HellyHansen and Dag Håvard Engebråten The performance is funded by Norsk kulturråd, Dramatikkens hus, Fond for lyd og bilde and Fritt Ord.
Our refugee crisis. Someone is going to come (The Ah!-version) is a fatal farce that confirms what you think, but do not dare to say out loud. 75
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SPKRBOX 6.–10. SEPTEMBER
A festival within the festival
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SPKRBOX SPKRBOX is hip-hop. SPKRBOX is people.
Nordic Black Theatre/ Caféteatret, Nationaltheatret at Torshov, Dramatikkens hus, Cosmopolite, Hvaskjer and Skuespillersenteret.
FESTIVAL FOR URBAN ARTS
PHOTO: KIM S. FALCK JØRGENSEN
6.–10. SEPTEMBER
When urban street culture meets fine arts, sparks fly! SPKRBOX is a festival for urban arts and performance. A creative collision with a low threshold, high quality, and laid-back atmosphere. SPKRBOX provides a common ground for the hip-hop scene and the theatre. In 2016 the festival is being organized for the third year in a row. This year’s festival will feature both Nordic and international artists. There will be performances, concerts, battles, jams, “work-in-progress”, lectures, panel discussions, and courses. Ever since the festival was first held in 2014 SPKRBOX has aimed at promoting urban arts and performance in Norway. The festival is a door-opener, a link between street culture and fine arts. 77
SPKRBOX wants to explore class differences, challenge conventional theatre, and inspire the hip-hop and theatre communities to cooperate across disciplines and aesthetics. The goal is to promote a genre that can enhance and diversify the field of theatre. SPKRBOX’s vision is to make hip-hop more accessible to traditional theatre audiences and open up the theatre to hip-hoppers. Hip-hop has what theatre needs, and vice-versa.
SPKRBOX
Festival programme
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INSTANT SPKRBOX 1
6 SEPTEMBER
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LECTURE BY BABA ISRAEL
6 SEPTEMBER
INSTANT SPKRBOX 2
20:00
6 SEPTEMBER
20:45
Dramatikkens hus
Dramatikkens hus
Dramatikkens hus
Five days, five people. A meeting between the hip-hop scene and the theatre scene.
The Cypher of the City: Theatre and Rituals of Community.
Five days, five people. A meeting between the hip-hop scene and the theatre scene.
With Ulla Broch, Samir Madad, Fredrik Brattberg and Beatur. Directed by Hilde Brinchmann.
With Matilde Holdhus and Baba Israel.
With Maria Karlsen, Droolian, Hildur Kristinsdottir and Toril Solvang. Directed by Jens Wergeland.
WRITING WORKSHOP WITH FREDRIK HØYER
6 + 7 SEPTEMBER
11:00–15:00.
LECTURE BY JACOB KIMWALL
7 SEPTEMBER
THOSE WHO FACE THE WORLD WITH VOMIT IN THEIR HAIR
18:30
7 SEPTEMBER
19:30
Skuespillersenteret
Nordic Black Theatre/Caféteatret
Nordic Black Theatre/Caféteatret
The Voice and The Rhythm. Poetic Texts for The Stage.
Cracks in the walls.
WORK IN PROGRESS – about concrete and pavements and everyone who falls flat on their face.
With Jacob Kimvall, an art scholar with PhD in graffiti and street art.
Two day writing workshop with Fredrik Høyer, writer and poet known for spoken word and slam poetry
SPEEDDATE WITH THE ARTISTS AND OPEN MIC
7 SEPTEMBER
21:00
By and with Bård Sjøberg, Beatur, Marius Abrahamsen and Taro Vestøl Cooper. Dramaturg and director: Oda Radoor.
GETTING THERE
8 SEPTEMBER
HIP HOP THEATRESPORTS
19:30
8 SEPTEMBER
Nordic Black Theatre/Caféteatret
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
The best of SPKRBOX.
When was the last time you disappointed yourself, and what are you going to do about it?
Stor Overraskelse with Baba & Yako 440.
Get to know the artists with host and rapper Zeps.
By Sofia Knudsen Estifanos. With Evelyn Rasmussen Osazuwa, Erik Bauck Bårdstu, Ulrik Tangen and Sofia Knudsen Estifanos.
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21:00
With Skranglebein, Nils m/Skils, Droolian, Baba Israel and Yako 440.
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PANEL DISCUSSION: HOMER IS MY HOMEBOY
9 SEPTEMBER
19:00
FESTIVAL FRINGE
HIPHOP WAS RAISED ON THE BLOCK
9 SEPTEMBER
CALENDAR & MAP
RAP BATTLE
21:00
9 SEPTEMBER
Nationaltheatret at Torshov, in the bar
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
A discussion about rap music and its complexity.
WORK IN PROGRESS – a concert show about Groruddalen, class struggle and discovering who you are.
A wordsmith duel.
Hosted by Tony Lorenzi. Panelists: Henry Bowers aka Kung Henry (S), Maria Karlsen (N), Nils m/Skils (N), Einar Idsøe Eidsvåg (N) og Kenneth Engebretsen (N).
AFTERPARTY
9 SEPTEMBER
Actors Ulla Broch and Marika Enstad and rappers Tuva Syvertsen and TOVANSKÏ.
With Don Martin, Jonathan “Boss” Castro and Felipe “Fela” Orellana Castro. Directed by Morten Joachim and Cici Henriksen.
UNSEEN
23:00
22:30
INSTANT SPKRBOX 3
10 SEPTEMBER
15:30
10 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Hva Skjer
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Zeps has invited some good friends, DJs, rappers, beatboxers, and is throwing a party at Hva Skjer!
A scene for young talent in urban performing arts.
Five days, five people. A meeting between the hip-hop scene and the theatre scene.
HOLD ON – KEEP GOING
10 SEPTEMBER
Experience rap, slam poetry, beatboxing, DJ-ing or hip hop dance!
THE CYPHER
19:30
10 SEPTEMBER
With Siriann Petronella Berdal, Rasmus Rhode, Andreas Nesteby Obrenovic and Jeaninne M. Lukusa. Directed by Jeremy Thomas-Poulson.
ALL IS AS IT SHOULD BE
21:00
10 SEPTEMBER
22:30
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Cosmopolite
WORK IN PROGRESS – you can’t read your way there, you have to walk the distance yourself
The circle. The core of hip-hop.
A concert performance without script and score.
Led by Baba Israel og Yako 440 fra New York. Med Evelyn Rasmussen Osazuwa (N), Toby DeeDaran (D), Jon Magnus Arnarsson (IS), Kaila Mullady (US), Craig muMs Grant (US), Henry Bowers aka Kung Henry (S) og Marcus Andreassen aka Dark Mark (N).
With Per Olav Hoff Mydske (aka Skranglebein), Tuva Syvertsen, Erik Sollid, Magnus Jr. Larsen, Steinar Ofsdal and more!
With Svein Tindberg, Fredrik Høyer and Peter Baden. Directed by Liv Marie Skaare Baden.
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FESTIVAL FRINGE
Much more than theatre! Introductions, guided tours, debates, seminars and theatre quizzes – the Ibsen Festival offers great moments on and off stage. Meet theatre artists from across the world, and ask the questions that have always puzzled you. New happenings pop up every day!
ARTIST TALKS
QUIZZES
FESTIVAL BAR
GROSVOLD
FILMS
SEMINARS
PARTIES
CONCERTS
BREAKFAST MEETINGS
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES
IBSEN STUNTS
DANCE
PERFORMANCES
PREMIERES
OUTDOOR
INTRODUCTIONS
AWARD CEREMONY
GUIDED TOURS
READINGS
EXHIBITIONS
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FESTIVAL BAR Welcome to the festival bar
Festival bar
Ibsen parties
Audience Foyer, The National Theatre
Festival bar Parties in the Festival bar to celebrate premieres an guest performances
The Festival Bar is open every day during the festival.
Under painted ceilings and chandeliers, you can enjoy a drink before the performance, continue the festival evening and discuss how you found the performance. Not least, you will have the opportunity to meet international artists and theatre experts. An added bonus: Watch the comings and goings around the university and Parliament, and the buzz of city life from the most extraordinary balcony in town!
Tickets and full overview: ibsenfestivalen.no
Take part in Ibsen Parties in the Audience Foyer throughout the entire festival!
Welcome to the actors’ own party! Join the party! Enjoy the good music and festive atmosphere. 14 September 22:30 Bakscenen
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Meet artists from the evening’s performances and have a chat with festival attendees from near and far.
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INTRODUCTIONS AND TALKS Meet the artists and expand your theatre experience
Introductions to the plays
Meet the artists
Ibsen's Parlours The Ibsen Museum
Festival Bar
Festival Bar
BEFORE PERFORMANCES
BEFORE AND AFTER
12 SEPTEMBER
18:00
PERFORMANCES
15 SEPTEMBER
18:00
19 SEPTEMBER
18:00
21 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Free Admittance! Full overview of dates and times on ibsenfestivalen.no Language: English and Norwegian
Free Admittance! Full overview of dates and times on ibsenfestivalen.no Language: English
How do you combine two of Ibsen’s plays into one? What views does religious fanatic Brand present to us today? Have you ever wondered how a play comes into being?
Are you curious about the performance you just watched? Do you have questions you are burning to ask the director? During the Ibsen Festival you will have the opportunity, often!
During the Ibsen Festival, experienced dramaturgs and other artists from the National Theatre give introductions to the performances in the festival bar.
After selected performances there will be informal conversations with directors and actors, from the stage and in the festival bar. Don’t miss author Alf van der Hagen interview some of the festival’s most interesting artists.
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Tickets: The Ibsen Museum Language: Norwegian
In the Ibsen Museum, you are welcome to enjoy four evenings with Ibsen’s parlour, opened for critical reflection on Peer Gynt, Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck, Borkman and Brand – my god is storm.
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
GROSVOLD MEETS In-depth talks with actors and artists
Grosvold Meets: Ibsen special Festival Bar 17 SEPTEMBER
15:00
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no Language: Norwegian
Join an Ibsen special with the popular show Grosvold Meets. The Norwegian radio and television host Anne Grosvold invites artists and other stakeholders in the cultural world to take part in interesting conversations.
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
More info: ibsenfestivalen.no
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READING By author and actress Gine Cornelia Pedersen PHOTO: FORLAGET OKTOBER
Love Story or Out and Home Again or An Epic Nationaltheatret at Torshov 20 SEPTEMBER
19:30
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no Language: Norwegian
Gine Cornelia Pedersen’s novel Love Story or Out and Home Again or An Epic involves provincial Solveig, whose boyfriend is the Oslo boy Peer Pedro. Solveig becomes pregnant, and Peer leaves for India on holiday, but he does not come back after two weeks as agreed. At the same time, Solveig is walking around on the streets of Oslo with a seed in her tummy and with the Internet as her only connection to the child’s father. Love Story or Out and Home Again or An Epic is a novel in two acts that has obvious
parallels to Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. During this year’s Ibsen Festival, Gine Cornelia Pedersen and Mikkel Bratt Silset will read the text. About the author: Gine Cornelia Pedersen is a Norwegian author and actress, born in 1986. Pedersen received the Tarjei Vesaas Debut Prize for her debut novel Zero (2013). Love Story or Out and Home Again or An Epic came out in 2016. She was trained as an actor at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre and is known for the NRK series Unge lovende (2015).
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INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
CONCERT Laid-back concert journey where Ibsen meets Ibsen PHOTO: DAGFINN HOBÆK
Ibsen meets Ibsen Festival Bar 22 SEPTEMBER
20:00
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no
Enjoy a wonderful laid-back concert journey, where Greece meets Norway, the music meets history – and Ibsen meets Ibsen. In September 1899, A Greek warship called at Kristiania, with a young officer on board who has dreamed of travelling ”to Ibsen’s country”. The meeting must have made a great impression. In any event, the young officer later became one of the most important playwrights in Greece. Through the young officer,
Greece and Henrik Ibsen met nearly 120 years ago. The young pianist Stefan Ibsen Zlatanos has lived with this connection his entire life, with both Greek and Norwegian ancestors, as well as by bearing Ibsen’s name. Now, he wishes to communicate the travelogue that he found by chance at a second-hand bookshop in the US, via a concert during the Ibsen Festival. The fantastic trip has become a concert journey, which shows that Greece, Henrik Ibsen and piano music certainly can be unified – and result in
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a laid-back musical performance, where Greece meets Norway, the music meets history – and the pianist Ibsen meets the playwright Ibsen. Together with Per Sundnes, Stefan Zlatanos Ibsen pilots you through a concert full of mystical forests, elves, intoxication and a bunch of Stefan’s favourite pieces for piano. About Stefan Ibsen Zlatanos: Stefan Ibsen is a versatile and sought-after freelance pianist. This autumn, he will be releasing his first solo album.
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AUDIOVISUAL Lay down on pillows and blankets – and listen to Ibsen's Brand PHOTO: NRK
Lay down with Ibsen Festival Bar 18 SEPTEMBER
13:00
Free admittance with ticket! Language: Norwegian
Participate in a unique meeting with Ibsen’s Brand! We will fill the Festival Bar with pillows – you will be able to lay down, put on your sleeping glasses and experience a different type of meeting with NRK Radio Theatre’s version of Ibsen’s work. We will be serving coffee, tea and light snacks and hope to breathe some new life into an old classic. Do not miss Lay Down With Ibsen! In collaboration with: NRK Radio Theatre
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INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
AUDIOVISUAL A new film about Hedda and a radio classic from NRK
Radio: Unique version of The Wild Duck
Hedda Gabler - A World Premiere!
NRK radio P2
Vika Cinema
25 SEPTEMBER
15:00
8 SEPTEMBER 18:00
Tickets: Vika Cinema Language: English
The Wild Duck is a humorous and charming play dealing with the life of everyday people, but also a play in which an incomprehensible tragedy unfolds. In this version of The Wild Duck young Hedvig is the focus – the child in the self absorbed world of the adults. Hear well known Norwegian actors like Kim Haugen, Andrea Bræin Hovig, Anne Krigsvoll and Lasse Kolsrud in this radio classic.
The world premiere premiere of Matthew John’s Hedda Gabler will take place at Vika Kino before an invited audience during the festival. You are also welcome to visit their exhibition at the Ibsen Museum, where the filmmakers have donated the specially-made costumes. In co-operation with Vika Cinema and The Ibsen Museum
In collaboration with: NRK Radio Theatre
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PHOTO: ROBERT LIPNICKI
Language: Norwegian
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ACADEMIC NACHSPIEL Late-night Ibsen conversations
Enemy of the Duck Festival Bar 10 SEPTEMBER
22:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
How do you combine two of Ibsen’s plays into one? What happens when you change and adapt plays to other cultures? Julie Holledge, professor of literature, and Frode Helland, head of the Centre for Ibsen Studies, have studied how Ibsen’s plays are staged and adapted to different cultures, and will discuss Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck with artists from the performance. In collaboration with: Centre for Ibsen studies
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INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
What About Ibsen’s Men
Brands Diagnosis
Festival Bar
Festival Bar
12 SEPTEMBER
22:00
22 SEPTEMBER
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
Much has been said about Ibsen’s women. But how are Ibsen’s men actually doing?
Brand: A psychopath or an idealist? After the performance Brand we will talk about the character Brand: Psychoanalyst Shaharam Shaygani and a religious expert discuss who Brand really is together with actor Henrik Rafaelsen. PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
The performance Borkman will be followed by a discussion on Ibsen’s men. Ellen Riis, who has written her Master’s degree paper on the topic, and Jørgen Lorentzen, gender researcher and head of the Hedda Foundation, discuss masculinity in the play John Gabriel Borkman.
21:40
In collaboration with: The University of Oslo
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SEMINARS Scholars, artists and audiences in discussion PHOTO: TRUDE ENG
How to promote Norwegian drama texts to the world Nationaltheatret 23 SEPTEMBER
16:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
How does one achieve an international breakthrough? Stage artists who have achieved international recognition share their experiences, and international theatre experts reveal what they are on the lookout for. What does one need to succeed abroad? During part one of the seminar you will meet Norwegian dramatists Arne Lygre, Fredrik Brattberg and stage performer Lisa Lie, who all in various ways have achieved, or are achieving, international breakthroughs. You will
also meet some of the key people behind their success: Stephane Braunschweig, director, Jack Tarlton, director, and artistic manager of the Nordwind Festival, Ricarda Ciontos. During part two you will meet key persons working in the PR industry and stage art industry who are promoting Norwegian artists abroad: Norwegian Arts Abroad/NORLA, embassies and political figures. The seminar is lead by author Alf van der Hagen.
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A collaboration between the Ibsen Festival, Danse og teatersentrum (DTS), NORLA, Music Norway, Norsk Filminstitutt, DOGA and OCA Norwegian Craft, Norwegian Arts Abroad. Supported by the Norwegian embassies in Germany, France and Great Britain.
INTRODUCTION
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CALENDAR & MAP
PHOTO: ANDERS LIEN
Ibsen and Hedda Gabler in Iran Sæterhytten 19 SEPTEMBER
17–22:00
20 SEPTEMBER
10–15:30
Tickets and full programme at ibsenfestivalen.no Language: English
Is it acceptable for a Norwegian ensemble to play Hedda Gabler with a shawl in Iran? What happens to art if it succumbs to censorship? Which roles do Ibsen and Hedda Gabler play for women’s liberation in Iran? Visjoner Teater triggered a heated media debate in Norway when they visited Fadjr International Theatre Festival in January 2016. The debate concerned how Norwegian stage artists accepted subjecting themselves to Iranian censorship in their interpretation of Hedda Gabler.
Visjoner Teater performs Hedda Gabler med sjal [Hedda Gabler with a Shawl] at Sæterhytten 19 September at 18.00. The seminar continues on 20 September at Sæterhytten, Bygdøy, and includes panels, lectures, presentations and artistic meetings with well-known actors from Norway and Iran. Don’t miss this opportunity and join the seminar which highlights Ibsen’s relevance for equality today. In collaboration with: Visjoner Teater, DLT, The Norwegian Embassy in Teheran, Sæterhytten and Fritt Ord.
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Don’t miss the lecture Ibsen and veiled women. Page 96.
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LECTURE SERIES New perspectives on Ibsen
The story of Ibsen and Munch
Ibsen, a humourist? Most certainly!
The Ibsen Museum
Festival Bar
20 SEPTEMBER
18:00
19 SEPTEMBER
13:00
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Munch are the two greatest artists Norway has fostered. They were never close friends, yet they mutually admired and inspired each other’s artistic works. The Ibsen Museum organizes an artist meeting between Ibsen and Munch through an exhibition and a lecture. Get acquainted with two artists who both have left deep and lasting legacies in the international world of arts! In collaboration with: The Munch Museum and The Ibsen Museum.
Was Ibsen a funny guy? Yes indeed, Ståle Dingstad, literature scholar tells us. He has delved deep into Ibsen’s humour, finding a plethora of witticisms and comedy. Prepare for side-splitting fun and some hearty chuckles – with and without Ibsen beards! In collaboration with: The University of Oslo
PHOTO: AKADEMIKA FORLAG
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INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
John Lennon, a fan of Ibsen? Festival Bar 9 SEPTEMBER
17:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
Have you noticed that Henrik Ibsen and John Lennon had similar eyeglasses? You now have the chance to hear the story behind the glasses, when head of the Ibsen Museum, Erik Edvardsen, gives a lecture on how John Lennon became a fan of Ibsen. In collaboration with: The Ibsen Museum
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LECTURE SERIES New perspectives on Ibsen
Body Language in Ibsen Festival Bar 14 SEPTEMBER
17:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
It’s said that a lot of our communication takes place nonverbally. So what happens to Ibsen's characters when their verbal language fails? What messages are hidden in their nonverbal interaction? Professor Arthur Holmberg teaches at Harvard University and is Director of drama at the American Repertory Theater. Now you have the chance to hear him lecturing about what you’ve never heard Ibsen’s characters say before.
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DESIGN: THE HONG KONG ACADEMY FOR PERFORMING ARTS, HONG KONG 2001
Twenty-first Century World Noras The National Library 8 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
Professor emerita Julie Holledge has been researching contemporary productions of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House across five continents. In this presentation, she talks about the many faces of Nora she has encountered on her journeys.
CALENDAR & MAP
Don’t miss the exhibition and guided tour at the National Library. Page 102
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LECTURE SERIES New perspectives on Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen, Amalie Skram and the impossible love
Ibsen and veiled women Festival Bar
Deichmanske Library, Grünerløkka 20 SEPTEMBER
21 SEPTEMBER
13:00
Free Admittance! Language: English
19:00
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
Merete Morken Andersen is working on a biography of Amalie Skram, who had an active but very ambivalent relationship to Ibsen. As writers they both struggled with many of the same issues, and Morken Andersen adds particular emphasis on the aspects of love in the two writers' works.
Dr. Farin Zahedi will take you to a distant country where women play Nora under a veil. Based on her doctoral degree from the University of Oslo, she will tell us about producing Ibsen in Iran, and what keeps making Ibsen relevant for contemporary women. Don’t miss the seminar about Hedda Gabler in Iran. Page 91
In collaboration with Folkeakademiet and Deichmanske Library.
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In collaboration with The University of Oslo
INTRODUCTION
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FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
PANEL Different perspectives on Ibsen and childhood
Ibsen and Childhood Deichmanske Library, Grünerløkka 22 SEPTEMBER
18:00
Free Admittance! Language: Norwegian
The relationship between children and adults in Ibsen’s work is complicated and often ends in catastrophe. The children are innocent, but subject to horrific things, eventually making them difficult adults. Torgeir Haugen and Inger Marie Lindboe have edited and written a book on Ibsen and childhood. By studying his plays the authors from different disciplines discuss themes like the worth of a child, what possibilities are available to the children, how they are formed, how
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Ibsen can be used in schools and kindergarten and what it is about Grieg´s In the hall of the mountain king that fascinates children. In collaboration with Vidarforlaget, Deichmanske Library and Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus.
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BREAKFAST SEMINAR Early morning input: All or Nothing?
All or Nothing: Breakfast Seminar on Brand Festival Bar 13 SEPTEMBER
8:30
Tickets at ibsenfestivalen.no Language: Norwegian
”All or nothing”, Brand cries in the play of the same name. In this breakfast seminar about Brand, Steinar Bjartveit will talk about power and impotence, and the will to sacrifice everything for one’s calling, together with a competent panel – and in the perspective of leaders of today.
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PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
The participants in the panel will be released on ibsenfestivalen.no. Stay tuned!
Steinar Bjartveit is a well known lecturer with years of experience in leadership and management development. He is working in Norway as well as abroad, and teaches at BI Business School.
INTRODUCTION
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FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
BOOK LAUNCH Where and how is A Doll’s House performed today? PHOTO: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. NORA, TRAIN STATION II, OSLO. FROM NORA’S STORY DIRECTED BY JULES WRIGHT, PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS ZANON-LARCHER. THE WAPPING PROJECT LONDON, OCTOBER 2006 - FEBRUARY 2007 (SOURCE: © COPYRIGHT THOMAS ZANON-LARCHER, 2016).
Book Launch: A Global Doll’s House Festival Bar 21 SEPTEMBER
17:00
Free admittance! Language: English
Join a worldwide journey to all the incredible places Ibsen is performed today! A Doll’s House is possibly the world’s most performed play – how do we explain this? Which forces affect the play’s journey around the world? A Doll’s House has been performed in many different ways, ever since Ibsen´s own lifetime – and it still changes. What is constant and what is indispensable in what we call A Doll’s House? The Ibsen Festival is given the honour of launching the
book A Global Doll ‘s House. Ibsen and Distant Visions. Join us in celebrating it’s premiere under the chandeliers in the Festival Bar and in the presence of prominent guests like Monna Tandberg and Tore Rem. The authors of the book is an interdisciplinary research team: Professors Frode Helland, Jonathan Bollen, Julie Holledge and Joanne Tompkins. In an attempt to understand the play’s global success, the research team has used a digi-
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tal network, images and maps to track all the places A Doll’s House is performed today. The book is to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in September.
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IBSEN FOR KIDS Creative activities, theatre games and readings for kids
Ibsen for kids
Guided Tour: Ibsen and The National Theatre
The National Theatre 10 SEPTEMBER
The National Theatre
12:00
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no Language: Norwegian
17 SEPTEMBER
14:00
18 SEPTEMBER
14:00
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no Language: Norwegian
Join in on an adventureous day with lots of activities.
Are you wondering who Ibsen was and why he is one of our greatest celebrities?
Take the kids to a surprising day in the theatre with games and creative activities, all from the child’s perspective.
Let the kids get to know our greatest writer at his own theatre, through an interactive tour of the old and exciting building.
PHOTO: ØYVIND EIDE
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PHOTO: CAPPELEN DAMM
Don Fridtjof – a reading for children Deichmanske Main Library 10 SEPTEMBER
14:00
Free Admittance Language: Norwegian
The book Don Fridtjof is written by Anna Bache-Wiig and illustrated by Lisa Aisato. It’s about a fearless and urban cat – but between the lines you will find Ibsen’s Terje Wigen. The book is written in the same verse form as the classic – and can be enjoyed by children and adults from four to five years and up.
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EXHIBITIONS Several free exhibitions during the festival! PHOTO: MARIANNE HESKE (DETALJ)
Festival artist Marianne Heske The National Theatre 8–25 SEPTEMBER
Free admittance!
How to capture the mood in Ibsen’s plays – in pictures? Marianne Heske is the Ibsen artist of the National Theatre during this year’s festival! Heske’s video paintings from the series Mountains of the Mind reflect the same mountain landscapes where Henrik Ibsen found his inspiration for the plays Brand, Rosmersholm and Peer Gynt.
all art. She found her inspiration travelling in western Norway and across the mountains of Jotunheimen. Marianne Heske has studied art in Bergen, Paris, London and Maastricht, and actively exhibits in Norway and abroad.
Mountains, with their dramatic shapes and light, are a classical metaphor in
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CALENDAR & MAP
PHOTO: NANZIKAMBE THEATRE, BLANTYRE, MALAWI 2006.
Nora Around the World The National Library 9 JUNE–17 SEPTEMBER
Free admittance!
See Henrik Ibsen’s original manuscript for A Doll’s House, inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, and explore how Nora, one of the most powerful female characters in international drama, is portrayed through theatre programmes, posters, books and film clips from all over the world.
Take a guided tour through the exhibition. Mon 12.–Fri 16. 14:00
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GUIDED TOURS Exciting guided tours in several locations
National Theatre Tour
Ibsen Museum Tour
Nora Around the World Tour
The National Theatre
The Ibsen Museum
The National Library
8–25 SEPTEMBER
8–25 SEPTEMBER 14:00 / 17:00
12–16 SEPTEMBER
14:00
Tickets: ibsenfestivalen.no English and Norwegian
Tickets: ibsenmuseet.no English and Norwegian
Free admittance! English and Norwegian
What did Ibsen really think about the National Theatre? Join guided tours in Ibsen’s theatre every day during the festival. Competent guides will take you back to the opening days of the National Theatre, telling you about minor scandals and great expectations, such as when Ibsen and Bjørnson were at loggerheads about who would direct the first play, and when the King of Sweden was late for the opening performance.
If you have a ticket to an Ibsen Festival performance, you can join a guided tour of Ibsen’s apartment at a discount! The guided tours will focus on the evening’s Ibsen performance and Ibsen’s life.
Guided tour in the exhibition Nora Around The World: See Henrik Ibsen’s original manuscript for A Doll’s House, inscribed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, and explore how Nora, one of the most powerful female characters in international drama, is portrayed through theatre programmes, posters, books and film clips from all over the world.
For full schedule of guided tours: ibsenfestivalen.no
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For a group tour, please contact informasjon@nb.no
INTRODUCTION
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FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
QUIZ Test your Ibsen skills PHOTO: GISLE BJØRNEBYE
Ibsen Quiz Deichmanske Main Library: 9 SEPTEMBER
19:00
Festival Bar, National Theatre: 16 SEPTEMBER
21:30
Free admittance! Language: Norwegian
Ibsen quiz at the National Theatre is part of Oslo Kulturnatt. 16 September
Norwegian quiz champions give you the ultimate Ibsen challenge: Take part in the two Ibsen Festival theatre quizzes, for fun, surprising and challenging theatre and culture questions. Come join us for an exciting evening with good music, drinks and a laidback atmosphere. Great prizes for the winners as well! If you miss the first one, you are still welcome to join the second quiz.
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Eleven things you might not know about Henrik Ibsen 1
2
On his entrance exam for university, young Ibsen did no better than the grade ”Good” in Norwegian essay writing (called ”Development of the mother tongue”), perhaps this means there’s hope for us all?
Ibsen had a collection of small figures that he called ”The devil’s orchestra”. If he was struggling with writer’s block, he would take them out of the desk drawer and play with them. In this way, there would be magic in what he wrote.
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3 Ibsen studied to be an assistant pharmacist and his original idea was to pursue a career in medicine.
In his youth, Ibsen dabbled in painting, but Suzannah realised that he needed to concentrate on his writing. She really had to struggle with her husband to get him to put his brushes away. ”The world should be really grateful to my mother,” said their son Sigurd, ”She saved us from having a middling painter and gave us a poet instead.”
9 Ibsen had a modern home for the time, with a gas cooker and hot water. His daughterin-law gave him a huge bath sponge, which he made sure to tell her that he thoroughly scrubbed himself with, morning and evening.
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4 At noon every day, Ibsen strolled through the doors of the Grand Cafe to his regular table near the exit, where his chair had his name on it. Once there, he ordered a shot of spirits and a German beer, Spatenbraü, which he had imported specially for him.
5 Ibsen was only 5 foot 4 inches tall. He wore size 36 clothes and had high-heeled, black shoes.
7
According to a family anecdote, Henrik Ibsen’s wife Suzannah was the one who insisted that Nora had to leave the dolls’ house: ”Either she goes, or I do.”
Did you know John Lennon was inspired by Ibsen when he started wearing his iconic round glasses and grew sideburns?
8 Christian Krohg’s portrait of Ibsen’s ”arch enemy”, August Strindberg, hung on the wall of Ibsen’s study. He called the painting of the Swedish author ”The outbreak of madness” and kept it there to inspire his writing.
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11 Ibsen’s last words were ”Quite the opposite”, which the doctor, Dr. Edvard Bull, decided was not in reply to the nurse’s encouraging remark that he looked somewhat better, but referred to something he had been thinking about that needed to be expressed.
Source: The Ibsen Museum
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Calendar For more events and updates see ibsenfestivalen.no
8 SEPTEMBER
10 SEPTEMBER
Festival Opening
Nationaltheatret
12:00
Ibsen for Kids
Festival Bar
18:00
Hedda Gabler, movie, World Premiere
Vika Cinema
14:00
Reading for Kids
Deichmanske Main Library
18.00
Twenty-first Century World Noras
The National Library
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
19:00
Introduction: Vildanden + En folkefiende - Enemy …
Festival Bar
14:00
Water Games (ZW)
Bakscenen
19:30
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
16:00
Water Games (ZW)
Bakscenen
22:30
Ibsen party
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
19:30
Getting there
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
17:00
Introduction to Let you be
Festival Bar
21:00
Hip hop theatresports
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
18:00
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
18:00
Let you be(NO)
Amfiscenen
SPKRBOX
18.00
9 SEPTEMBER Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:30
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
22:00
Academic Nachspiel: Vildanden + En folkefiende …
Festival Bar
17:00
John Lennon, a fan of Ibsen?
Festival Bar
15:30
Unseen
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
18:00
Water Games (ZW)
Bakscenen
18:00
Instant SPKRBOX 3
Nationaltheatret at Torshov/ Rehearsal stage
18:30
Introduction to Let you be
Festival Bar
19:30
Hold on – keep going
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19:00
Ibsenquiz #1
Deichmanske Main Library
21:00
The Cypher
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19:30
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck
Hovedscenen
22.30
All is as it should be
Cosmopolite, Torshov
19:30
Let you be (NO)
Amfiscenen
22:00
Ibsen party
Festival Bar
19.00
Panel Discussion: Homer is my homeboy
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
21:00
Hiphop was raised on the block
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
22:30
Rap battle
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Afterparty
Hva Skjer, Torshov
SPKRBOX
23.00
11 SEPTEMBER 14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
19:00
Pillars of Society (NO)
Riksteatret
12 SEPTEMBER 12:00
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Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
SPKRBOX
14:00
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
14:00
Guided tour at the National Library
National Library
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
14:00
Guided tour at the National Library
National Library
15:00
Pillars of Society (NO)
Riksteatret
15:00
Hedda Gabler at Sæterhytten (NO)
Sæterhytten
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
15:00
Pillars of Society (NO)
Riksteatret
18:00
Ibsen Parlours #1
Ibsenmuseet
16:00
Little Europa (IT)
Amfiscenen
18:30
Introduction: Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the duck
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
19:00
Pillars of Society (NO)
Riksteatret
17:00
Body language in Ibsen
Festival Bar
19:30
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
18:30
Introduction: Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck
Festival Bar
19:30
Borkman (NO)
Amfiscenen
19:30
Introduction to Little Europa
Festival Bar
20:00
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
19:30
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
22:00
Academic Nachspiel: Borkman
Festival Bar
20:00
Little Europa (IT)
Amfiscenen
20:00
Child (HU)
Malersalen
13 SEPTEMBER 08:30
Breakfast seminar, Brand: All or Nothing
Festival Bar
21:20
Artist talk after Child
Malersalen
12:00
Guided Tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
22.30
Actors hosting Ibsen party
Bakscenen
12:00
When We Dead Awaken (GR)
Bakscenen
14:00
Guided tour at the National Library
National Library
13:00
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
15:00
Hedda Gabler at Sæterhytten (NO)
Sæterhytten
14:00
Guided tour at the National Library
National Library
16:00
When We Dead Awaken (GR)
Bakscenen
16:00
Child (HU)
Malersalen
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
17:00
Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
18:30
Introduction to Little Europa (IT)
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:30
Introduction: Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the duck
Festival Bar
18:00
Hedda Gabler at Sæterhytten (NO)
Sæterhytten
19:30
Little Europa (IT)
Amfiscenen
18:00
Ibsen Parlours #2
Ibsen Museum
19:30
Vildanden + En folkefiende – Enemy of the Duck (NO)
Hovedscenen
19:30
Ibsen: Peer Gynt (DE)
Amfiscenen
22:00
Ibsen party
Festival Bar
20:30
Artist talk after Ibsen: Peer Gynt
Amfiscenen
21:00
Ibsen Party
Festival Bar
15 SEPTEMBER
14 SEPTEMBER 12:00
Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
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16 SEPTEMBER
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
14.00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:30
Introduction to Peer Gynt
Festival Bar
14:00
Guided tour at the National Library
National Library
19:30
Peer Gynt (DE)
Hovedscenen
17:00
The Pretenders - A Staged Reading (SE/NO)
Festival Bar
22:15
Ibsen Party
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
19:00
Introduction to Hedda Gabler
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
12:00
Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
19:30
Ibsen: Peer Gynt (DE)
Amfiscenen
13:00
Ibsen, a humourist? Most Certainly!
Festival Bar
19:30
Hedda Gabler (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
21:30
Ibsenquiz #2
Festival bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
17:00
Ibsen and Hedda Gabler in Iran
Sæterhytten
19 SEPTEMBER
17 SEPTEMBER 13:30
Introduction to Hedda Gabler
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
18:00
Ibsens parlours #3
Ibsen Museum
14:00
Hedda Gabler (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19:30
Borkman (NO)
Amfiscenen
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
20:00
Someone is going to come (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!) (NO)
Malersalen
14:00
Guided tour for children
Nationaltheatret
22:00
Artist talk, Someone is going to come (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!)
Malersalen
15:00
Grosvold meets
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
10:00
Ibsen and Hedda Gabler in Iran
Sæterhytten
17:30
Introduction to Hedda Gabler
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
12:00
Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
18:00
The Pretenders – a staged reading (SE/NO)
Festival Bar
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:00
Let you be (NO)
Amfiscenen
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:00
Hedda Gabler (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19.00
Henrik Ibsen, Amalie Skram and the impossible love
Deichmanske Library, Grünerløkka
20:00
Hedda Gabler (SE)
Malersalen
18:30
Introduction to The Coming Storm
Festival Bar
19:30
The Coming Storm (UK)
Hovedscenen
20 SEPTEMBER
18 SEPTEMBER 13:00
Lay down with Ibsen
Festival Bar
19:30
Love Story or Out and Home Again or An Epic
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
14:00
Guided tour for children
Nationaltheatret
19:30
Ibsen´s Little Devils (NO)
Amfiscenen
14.00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
20:00
Someone is going to come (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!) (NO)
Malersalen
16:00
Hedda Gabler (SE)
Malersalen
17:00
New Nordic Drama (NO/FO/DK/ SE/IS/FI)
Dramatikkens hus
21 SEPTEMBER 12:00
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Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
13:00
Ibsen and veiled women
Festival Bar
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
12:30
International Ibsen Award, Ceremony
Hovedscenen
16:00
Someone is going to come (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!) (NO)
Malersalen
14:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
16:00
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
17:00
Book Launch, A Global Doll’s House
Festival Bar
16:00
Seminar: How to promote Norwegian drama texts internationally
Nationaltheatret
18:00
The Greenland Sūtra (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:00
Ibsens parlours #4
Ibsen Museum
19:30
The Notebook (UK)
Amfiscenen
18:30
Introduction to The Coming Storm
Festival Bar
20:00
The Greenland Sūtra (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19:30
The Coming Storm (UK)
Hovedscenen
22:00
Rotating Nora (NO)
Riksscenen
23 SEPTEMBER
24 SEPTEMBER
22 SEPTEMBER
10:00
Symposium, International Ibsen Award
Hovedscenen
12:00
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
13:00
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
15:00
Let you be (NO)
Amfiscenen
14.00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
17:15
Introduction to And on the Thousand Night
Festival Bar
17:00
Guided tour at the Ibsen Museum
Ibsen Museum
18:00
The Greenland Sūtra (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
17:00
Guided tour of The National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
18:00
And on the Thousand Night (UK)
Hovedscenen
18:00
Ibsen and Childhood, a talk
Deichmanske bibliotek, Grünerløkka
18:00
The Greenland Sūtra (NO)
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
19:30
The Notebook (UK)
Amfiscenen
13:00: Mimesis Machine
To be announced
20:00
Brand – my god is storm (NO)
Malersalen
14:00 - 20:30: Mimesis Machine
Nationaltheatret, all stages
20:00
Concert with Stefan Ibsen and Per Sundnes
Festival Bar
21:00: Mimesis Machine
Jaeger Club
21:40
Academic Nachspiel: Brand
Festival Bar
22:00: Mimesis Afterparty
Jaeger Club
Wild Duck, radio performance
NRK P2
25 SEPTEMBER 13:0022:00
Monsters of Reality – The Mimesis Machine
15:00
PREMIERE
PERFORMANCE
INTRODUCTION
ARTIST TALK
GROSVOLD
PARTY
GUIDED TOUR
QUIZ
EXHIBITION
DANCE
MOVIE
FOR CHILDREN
BREAKFAST MEETING
BOOK LAUNCH
CONCERT
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SEMINAR
AUDIO
Exhibitions every day throughout the festival, see page 102
IBSENFESTIVAL 2016
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IBSENFESTIVALEN.NO
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TEL: 815 00 811
Venue map
Nationalteatret is the heart of The Ibsen Festival. But several events takes place at other locations all around Oslo. Here is a guide to the festival venues. Tickets at ibsenfestivalen.no and 815 00 811
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3
Dramatikkens hus
The Ibsen Museum
Tøyenbekken 34
Henrik Ibsensgate 26
The doors open 60 minutes before performance start
Mon–sun 11–18.00
Public transport: Bus 34, 37 and 74 to Bussterminalen, subway to Grønland.
6
Public transport: Tram 12 and 13 to Solli plass, or tram 19 to Nationaltheatret. Bus 21 to Lapsetorvet. Bus 30 and 31 to Solli plass or bus 32, 54, 70, 74, 83 to Rådhuset.
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5
6
Riksteatret
Nationaltheatret at Torshov
Sæterhytten
Riksscenen
Bygdøyveien 30
Schous Kulturbryggeri, Trondheimsveien 2
Gullhaug Torg 2 The doors open 60 minutes before performance start Public transport: Subway 4 and 5 to Nydalen. There are good parking possibilties in Nydalen
The doors open 60 minutes before performance start
Vogts gate 64 The doors open 90 minutes before performance start
Public transport: Bus 30 to Frognerkilen
Public transport: Tram 11, 12 and 13 and bus 20 to Torshov.
Parking possibilties for 7–8 cars.
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The doors open 60 minutes before performance start Public transport: Bus 30 and 31 and tram 17 to Heimdalsgata. Tram 12 and 13 to Schous plass.
INTRODUCTION
PERFORMANCES
FESTIVAL FRINGE
CALENDAR & MAP
4
1 Nationaltheatret Johanne Dybwads plass 1
5 Mon–Fri: 11–18:30 Saturday: 11:00–17:00 Public transport: All the trains and subways, trams 12, 13 and 19 to Nationaltheatret. Bus 30, 31, 32, 54, 70, 74, 83 to Rådhuset.
HOVEDSCENEN AMFISCENEN MALERSALEN BAKSCENEN AUDIENCE FOYER
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FESTIVAL BAR
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7
11
10
3 1 2
8
9
10
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Black Box
Westerdals/ campus vulkan
The National Library
Deichmanske Library, Main Library:
Marstrandgata 8 The doors open 60 minutes before performance start Public transport: Tram 11, 12 and 13 to Birkelunden. Tram 17, bus 31 and 32 or subway nr. 5 to Carl Berners plass. Bss 30 to Dælenenga. Bus 20, 21, 28 or 33 to Københavngata.
Henrik Ibsensgate 110
Vulkan 19
Mon-fri: 9–19.00 Saturday: 9–14.00
The doors open 60 minutes before performance start
Public transport: Buss 21 to Lapsetorvet. Bus 30 and 31 and tram 12 and 13 to Solli plass.
Public transport: Bus 34 and 54 to Møllerveien.
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Arne Garborgs plass 4 Mon–fri: 9–18.00 Saturday: 11–15.00 Grünerløkka Schous plass 10 Mon–thur: 10–18.00 Fri: 11–16.00 Saturday: 12–16.00
IBSENFESTIVAL 2016
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#ibsenfestival2016 @nationaltheatret ibsenfestivalen.no
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TEL: 815 00 811
Be a part of the festival’s «compact majority»:
Get the unique festival kit! The festival kit can be purchased during the whole festival. Every tenth kit includes a free ticket to a great experience.
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The International Ibsen Festival 8.–25. September 2016 The Ibsen Festival takes place at Nationaltheatret every other year. The festival is a celebration of Norway’s most important playwright and his ground-breaking work with the conventions in theatre at his time. The Ibsen Festival is hosted by Nationaltheatret. The theatre collaborates with several cultural institutions and organizations.
Nationaltheatret:
Artistic and General Director: Hanne Tømta Managing Director: Marta Færevaag Hjelle Executive Producer: Henrik Melsom Edvardsen Technical Director: Stian Lindquist Head of Planning: Torill Nesøen Director of Communication: Ida Margreta Halvorsen
Festival organization
Artistic and General Director: Hanne Tømta Programme Committee: Hanne Tømta (Head of Committee), Njål Helge Mjøs, Hege Randi Tørressen, Mari Vatne Kjelstadli, Kristian Lykkeslet Strømskag, Olav Torbjørn Skare and Tone Tøstie (Secretary) Festival Director: Runi Sveen Technical Producer: Jan Ingierd Head of Festival Communication and Festival Fringe: Elisabeth Sødal Festival Coordinator and Voulenteers: Ingeborg Anna Wergeland
Editorial Published by: Nationaltheatret Publisher: Hanne Tømta Responsible Editor: Ida Margreta Halvorsen Editors: Elisabeth Sødal/ Åsta Hoem Hagen Editorial: Åsta Hoem Hagen, Maria Børja, Marte S. Eielsen, Ingeborg Helleberg, Elisabeth Sødal. Design/layout: Gøril J. Hansen Repro: Tom Undhjem Print: Aller Trykk AS Circulation: 5000 Editorial ended: 19.08.16 Photo: Marte Garmann, Gisle Bjørneby, Egil Hegerberg, NRK, Øyvind Eide, Sandra Then, Wonge Bergmann, Bjørn Kjetil Undem, Kristin Bengtson, Roberto Palermo, Ioanna Hatziandreou, Øyvind Schou, Svein Brimi, John Andresen, Jonas Kündig, Joanna Butler, Markus Li Stensrud, Emilie Pat. Williams, Eva Dalin (Stockholms universitet), Johanne Bjørseth, Lars Venner, Kim S. Falck Jørgensen, Mathias Fossum, and more. Other credits in photos. Programme may be subject to change.
Festival office:
Open every day: 11:00–16:00. festivaloffice@nationaltheatret.no
We thank our partners and contributors during the festival Thanks to our contributors: Obos, Norgesgruppen and Ministry of Culture NRK, Stiftelsen Inter National, Iceland Air, Black BoxTeater, Ibsenmuseet, Centre for Ibsen studies, Universitety of Oslo, Dramatikkens hus, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SPKRBOX, Deichmanske Library, Munchmuseet, Vika Cinema, Danse- og Teatersentrum, Thon Hotel Europa, Forlaget Oktober, The National Library.
ARTIST TALKS
QUIZZES
FESTIVAL BAR
GUIDED TOURS
SEMINARS
CONCERTS
OUTDOOR
BREAKFAST MEETINGS
IBSEN STUNTS
DANCE
PERFORMANCES
AWARD CEREMONY
INTRODUCTIONS
PREMIERES
EXHIBITIONS
READINGS
FILMS
IBSEN PARTIES
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES
GROSVOLD
Join the Ibsen-festivities Riveting. Challenging. Uncompromising.