Following the performance of "Home Sweet Home" on Monday, November 15 at 9th Space at PS122, Scandinavian American Theater Company will present a talkback with the playwright, Andreas Garfield, and director, Christoffer Berdal. Both are major theater artists of Denmark and in town briefly for the opening of this play.
Topics will include their combination of process, the origins of the play, their interviews with soldiers leading to it, and Mr. Berdal's experiences in the past year with bringing theater to Iraqi refugees.
The play, a psychological drama, deals with the toll on Scandinavian soldiers from peacekeeping and the agony of popular indifference to their sacrifice. It was prominently recognized in Denmark's equivalent of the Tony Awards in 2007. This is the play's American and English Language debut. It will be performed November 11 to 28 at the 9th Space at PS122, 150 First Ave. (Schedule/ticketing info follows below.)
Christoffer Berdal is one of Denmark's most sought-after directors. Born in 1967, he was awarded the Reumert Awards' Talent Prize in 1999. He comes to New York fresh from his critically acclaimed production of the Danish classic "Jeppe of the Hill" by Ludvig Holberg on the main stage at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, the most celebrated stage in Denmark.
This summer, Berdal and his colleague Runi Lewirissa lived and worked in Jordan rehearsing a play in the enormous refugee camp Zarqa, outside of the capital Amman. Believing that theater can prevent radicalization in the Middle East, the two directors are working to bestow their young cast members with a sense of possibility. Their production, "Who Are We," is based on the participants' own stories, thoughts and dreams. It will premiere April 21, 2011 in Zarqa. Subsequently, the show will play in Amman and tour refugee camps all across Jordan. The play is a project of C:NTACT, a foundation created under the framework of the Betty Nansen Theater in Copenhagen, which has an international branch with the mission to create identity-nurturing theater projects in areas of conflict around the world.
Playwright Andreas Garfield achieved prominence with "Home Sweet Home," which was a sensation in 2007 when it premiered at Teater Grob in Copenhagen, a well-known venue for experimental theater and new work. Since then, Teater Grob has toured the play around Denmark. The year of its debut, Garfield won the prestigious Talent Prize in the Reumert Awards, Denmark's equivalent of the Tony Awards. "Home Sweet Home" was also nominated in the categories of Best Play and Best Leading Actor and won in the category of Best Supporting Actor. This recognition was exceptional since the playwright was a student at the time. He graduated from the plawrighting division of Aarhus Theatre, Denmark, later that year and his plays have since been produced in theaters all over Denmark and Scandinavia.
"Home Sweet Home" (Hjem Kære Hjem) reveals the traumatic experience of war and the unsympathetic indifference of home as refracted through a Nordic country. Denmark has been a strong supporter of international peacekeeping and has soldiers currently serving in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Somalia. In the play Kim, a former Sergeant in the Danish army, and his girlfriend Iben, an editor of women's magazines, are preparing a "welcome home" dinner for Carsten, Kim's lifelong friend and once his Captain in the army. Cartsten has recently returned from service in Iraq and arrives for dinner handsome and fit. But during the evening, the couple are confronted with a person whose personality has become dark and secretive and whose understanding of life has become radically different from theirs. A pleasant reunion becomes a fatal evening where all three characters' relationships, values and principles are tested. The play is fictional, but was inspired by a true story. The part of Carsten will be performed by Albert Bendix (Denmark-USA). Iben will be played by Lisa Pettersson (Sweden-USA). The part of Kim will be played by Brian Smolin (USA).
The English translation is by actress Lisa Bearpark in collaboration with the company of Scandinavian American Theater Company.
The play is being presented by Scandinavian American Theater Company (www.satcnyc.org) from November 11 to 28 at the 9th Space at PS122, 150 First Ave. Previews are November 11 and 12. The play opens November 13 and runs through November 28 on the following dates: First Week: 11/11-14; Second Week: 11/15, 11/18-21; Third Week: 11/22-23, 11/26-28. Show times are Mon through Thurs at 7:30, Fri at 7:30, Sat at 4:30 and 7:30, Sun at 4:30. (There is no 4:30 performance on 11/13, opening night).
Tickets are $25, seniors and students $18. The box office number is 212-362-3101. Online ticketing is available at: www.satcnyc.org. The running time of the play is 90 minutes.
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