Peer Gynt in flashback

Will Peer Gynt end up in the melting-pot? When Toralv Maurstad again takes to the stage as Peer Gynt, he will be playing the old Peer.

Director Erik Ulfsby has chosen to start the performance with the 5th act, where Peer Gynt meets button-molder (Svein Tindberg). Through the dialogue the scenes from Peer Gynt's life become alive. It's as if they are turning back and forth in a diary or a picture-book, where his entire life is expanded and developed. Progressive stories, meetings and recognitions spelled out by a large ensemble of 14 shooters. Many actors will be preforming Peer Gynt in different stages of of life.

Always ascaped from himself
Peer has wanted to get away all his life - away from the village, away from Norway, but most of all, away from it himself. He wanted to transform himself, broaden his horizons, get rich, he wanted tu consume and enjoy. But towards the end of life he returns home, clearly marked by his experiences. Now he has to stand trial for his own life? How was he really? Will he survive the meeting the with the button-molder?

70-anniversary
It has been 70 år since Det Norske Teatret got permission by Ibsens descendants to perform the piece in nynorsk (new-norwegian).

Also read: Tancred Ibsen gave his blessing, as long as head of theatre Hans Jacob Nilsen both directed and played the main part himself

This created turmoil, the book audience responded with a booing during the performances, and there was a lot of fights in the front hall. However, the language was not the only thing that created the reaction back then. It was also the de romanticized version by director Hans Jacob Nilsen who made this happen, with new music by Sæverud. Erik Ulfsby stages it now 70 years after, it has become a poetic performance of this historic production.

International Cooperation
The production Peer Gynt is part of a collaborative project in a network of public support theatres in Europe, the European Theater Convention (ETC). Det norske teatret is one member of around 40 from 22 different countries. Through this organization, cooperation with the National Theater in Zagreb is started. A Croatian artistic team set up the classic, The last King's festival of Miroslav Krleza, here in Oslo, and Ulfsby took a Norwegian artistic team to set up Peer Gynt there with Croatian actors. It is this version he has based the production on, and it will be presented at Det norske teatret's main stage.

Read more about Peer Gynt here!

Det norske teatret is Norway's largest theater for reflection, experience and entertainment. The theater is located in central Oslo, The theatre building was built 1985 with 3 permanent stages, and over 220,000 audience patrons annually.

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