Theatre
sexually proyocatiye garh. The worlds of past and present mingle upon the stage. ls this classically Scandinayian'.’ ‘Well. the British tend to think that Scandinavian drama is ahout a lot of’ people sitting in a room who aren‘t able to talk to each other and alter a while one of them goes out and kills tliemselyes.‘ he says. '.\layhe there's some truth in this. hut there‘s more to it. .\'i’glilsmigs was a play ahout killing yoursell‘. hut this is a play ahout not killing yotll‘scll‘.’
But giyen the ohyious comforts of‘ this adyanced social democratic culture. why is there no political discourse in his plays'.’ ‘Well. I completely agree with the social system we haye here. so I'm not concerned with politics at all. hut Norwegian people are great indiyidualists. despite their socialist principals. so a lot of the tensions come from people haying to liye close together. When you get close to a person. you know all their jokes. You know what they are ahout to say. In this way. in my plays the words don‘t really mean anything. hut the emotions hehind them are crucial.‘
And what ahout his failure. so far. to make an impact in Britain'.’ "l‘he language in my plays doesn‘t really come from anywhere] he says. ‘lt‘s new Norse. not the language or lhsen. which is really almost Danish. lt’s meant to he Very simple. without a sense of dialect. and I think the British need this dialect. I think this
‘In my plays the words don’t really mean anything, but the emotions behind them are crucial’
Left: Nightsongs at the Royal Court, 1,4,,‘London; this picture: Dedsvariasjonar at
Norway's Nationaltheatret; below left: ' Autumn’s Dream by Portugal’s Artistes
ynidos; below right: Traum im Herbst at Munich’s Kammerspiele
translation. though. is eyen simpler. so that simple and small words can conyey' hig emotions. and this might help.‘
liosse departs. and I‘m left. pretty well penniless. to contemplate his chat. Late in the eyening l'm roying the streets of Bergen to ayoid spending money. and something happens to put his words in context. At night the tourists disappear and the Norwegians hit the streets. and the scene. full of drunken rihaldry. snogging and
shouting hecomes yery like Saturday night in (ilasgow. I pass two girls hy a fountain. A twentyish hlonde in a miniskirt is in tears. and heing comforted hy a dark haired girl. and in another language. I’m sure some mishehaying gee/er is getting a right slagging.
Half an hour later. I pass the same spot to lind the same dark haired girl with a completely different hlonde. l speculated that perhaps such was the social democratic system that the wise hurghers of Bergen had actually appointed the hrunette on a good salary as a kind of pl'olt‘ssltttlill Sllill'tllt-L‘Ulllllll'lk‘l'.
We would do well to seek the ttl'tlL‘l'L‘tl and egalitarian state created here. hut there would still he those pre—rational agonies under the affluence. l’erhaps .lon liosse can articulate them.
The Girl on the Sofa, Royal Lyceum Theatre, 473 2000, 12-17 Aug, 7.30pm, £64223.
la a» r . . a. a ' "’ ’
THOMAS OSTERMEIER Age? 34.
Connection with the Schaubuhne? in 2000. at the age of just 30. Ostermeier took over the Schaubuhne. Among the plays he has done there are Sarah Kane's Crave. Jon tosses the Name, Caryl Churchill's This is {i Chair and Bochrier's Danton '3 Death.
Directorial style? OSlC‘flliOiU.’ has made his name by opening the doors to a new gtzfl‘itfl'dlith’l of writers. many of them British. His productions; include German versions of DZiVKl l~larroz~rers Knives Iri Hens. Enda Walsh's Disco Pit/)8. and Mark Ravenhill's Shopping and Fuck/r 1:}. He has ruffled more than a few feathers, Theatre. he says. is all ab0ut unsolyed and one ‘lleJliJ questions. It's right for it to put you on edge. What’s he directing in Edinburgh? Jon Fosse's The Girl on the Sofa. One of those glorious miiltii'iational collaborations that. on:y festivals can create. The G/ri’ 0/: the Sofa hangs together a Norwegian t.)l{.iy".'-.’!':§.jttl, a German director and a Scottish translator. Dawn Hgii‘r'c.i=.'/or twl‘iose Knives in Hens Ostermeier once produced).
Edinburgh track record? in i999. fit) iii-ought, F/I'eface by Marius yon Mayenhiirg. a (listtii'hing studio piece about a fire-raising adolescent. 2min performances of a very high order.
The Girl on the Sofa, Royal Lyceum, 473 2000, 12-17 Aug, 7.30pm, £6—£23.
ANDREA BRETH
Age? 50.
Connection with the Schaubiihne? Brett: became artistic director of the Schauoiihhe in 1992 and stayed until 198%”. Her pawn-shorts included plays be Schnitzlei'. Citirki. Aestthyitrs. Chekhov. Kleist and Goethe.
Directorial style? it's been oi~.st.iit>ed as magical realism. exploring the depths ot nainan psycnology
What’s she directing in Edinburgh? FriedrCIClt Schillers ll/Ir'lr'lil Sitar/1'. A llltftllletjill companion piece to Deni/unis [via/r: Stuart/a (playing at the Usher Hail on 1.". Attila Senders; original is a romantic tragedy that takes son .i; histonczil liberties. such as .i flitttilil‘t,‘ octane-.2." Mary Stuart and Eli/aheth i‘udor that new hapi.)ened. It's cliar'actensed tiy its aura: speeches and punchy language. Broth}; production has been lauded for ll:3 i:~:;\.;:i‘.>io.i:t‘.ii depth and its ability to make a classic rote-glint.
Maria Stuart, King’s Theatre, 473 2000, 29-30 Aug, 7pm; 31 Aug, 6pm, £54226.
THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 57