Solitude. Outside cabinet. Intoxication. Sexualized images on the way. The action in “Death in Oslo S” could have been taken straight from our own time. When the Nationaltheatret takes on the actor-maligned Økern Center with post-punk in a confused dirty aesthetic, they do a lot right. In the empty hall, they create a kind of village where you can shop for used clothes and buy coffee, pizza and beer. Throw yourself down on a tired sofa and join Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s 80s universe. Follow along There has been a nice holistic approach to the theater room – and the audience sits in the middle of the events: Burger’n as an island to the right, Oslo S up the stairs and to the left. Pelles home in the middle of the audience area somewhere. It’s an enveloping theater experience – but you have to turn around to take in everything, as the action takes place throughout the room. Maybe tiring for the neck, but fun because you, as an audience member, have to pay extra attention. Suddenly Pelle and Proffen speed past on bicycles, suddenly a bathtub comes rolling in when Lena is about to wash herself. It’s a fun balance between fiction and nice breaks, and it fits together well as a whole. Scenographically, it is very well delivered. PLACE COINS: Lena (Flo Fagerli) hangs out in Oslo S at the Økern Center. Here she calls Pelle. Photo: Erika Hebbert Crazy 80s Director Simen Formo Hay is based on Aksel Hellstenius’ film script from 1990. In addition, he got former Pogo Pops vocalist, the recently deceased Frank Hammersland, to write the music. It has a recognizable 80s sound, and correspondingly clear, almost obvious lyrics. Not necessarily great poetry, but it suits the performance well, because the lines are on the same level. Here things are said as they are, there is little enigmatic ambiguity on the textual level. Vocally, there is room for improvement with some of the actors, there was some intonation debris in the song numbers at the premiere. It suits the performance’s rambling style, but is probably not the intention. PELLE: Filip Bargee Ramberg as the main character in “Death in Oslo S”. THE PRO: Sjur Vatne Brean as best friend and snooze number two. Necessary dissonance Pelle (Filip Bargee Ramberg) and Proffen (Sjur Vatne Brean) are two kind, good friends at the Økern Centre. Pelle meets Lena (Flo Fagerli), and falls head over heels in love. Lena is in trouble both when it comes to drugs and abuse. At the same time, Pelle and Proffen’s friend Filla (Rafid Arsalan Islam) raze the boys’ home where he lives. It turns out that Lena and Filla’s problems are connected, and Pelle and Proffen try as best they can to sort things out. IMPRESSES: Flo Fagerli makes a strong performance in the role of Lena. Photo: Erika Hebbert This works well at Økern. At the same time, I miss character depth in both Pelle and Proffen. It will be a bit too kind. But Fagerli as Lena and not least Maria Kristine Hildonen as Nina, Lena’s criminal mentor, balance this in the performance. Fagerli and Hildonen make a good effort right down to the smallest details. The use of voices is good, the nuances in the movement patterns believable, they frame everything that Oslo’s underground consists of and create the necessary dissonance in the performance. DISCOMFORT: The characters Lena (Flo Fagerli, at the bottom of the picture) and Nina (Maria Kristine Hildonen) draw up the theater experience at Økern Center. Photo: Erika Hebbert Reminiscing “Death in Oslo S” can be experienced as both moving and fun. Although the use of space is innovative and it feels like being at a festival when you go to the theatre, there is no getting away from the fact that this fits like a glove for those who grew up in the eighties. According to the theatre, this is a performance “for those who grew up with Pelle and the Proffen, and not least for those who grow up today.” Is that right? CARING: Worried mother and father (Tone Mostraum and Bernhard Arnø) are less crazy and more kind-hearted than in Ambjørnsen’s novel. But both play with a twinkle in their eye. Here in Pelle’s classic pine bed, which is placed in the middle of the audience. Photo: Erika Hebbert Well. For those who want to reminisce about the 80s, all you have to do is get a ticket. Telephone with dial, telephone directory, telephone booth and leather satchel are fun features. Even if the show is dated, it’s dated in a cool way. I think this “Death in Oslo S” version can be two different experiences. Fill the hall only with youth or young adults, and it will explode in a completely different way than if only 40-50-year-olds occupy the hall. Tale of hope It must be fair to ask how much fun the 80s really are for a 17-year-old. To them, I think the performance also says something that everything was simpler before: Nude pictures were not digital and uncontrollable, for example. No one could track you via your mobile. A manifestation of lost freedom, perhaps? IT’S BOILING: Does Filla’s friend Stein (Deniz Kaya) get stage baths as easily every night? Photo: Erika Hebbert The story is 35 years old, but at the same time man has not changed much. Being young, desperate and in love is still as difficult and beautiful. “Death in Oslo S” is a rather dark story about drug addiction and abuse – but at the Økern Center it is also a story about how important it is to be kind, stand up, never give up. It becomes a story of hope into something that is dark and hopeless. Do we believe in that hope? Maybe a good idea to go to Økern and see for yourself. news reviews Photo: Erika Hebbert Title: “Death in Oslo S” Place: Nationaltheatret, Økernsenteret, Oslo When: March 9–10. June 2023 Director: Simen Formo Hay Written by: Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Axel Hellstenius and Frank Hammersland Actors: Filip Bargee Ramberg, Sjur Vatne Brean, Flo Fagerli, Maria Kristine Hildonen, Deniz Kaya, Rafid Arsalan Islam, Kim Haugen, Bernhard Arnø, Tone Mostraum . /song lyricist: Frank Hammersland Co-author/playwright: Oda Radoor
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“Death in Oslo S” at the Nationaltheatret – Reviews and recommendations
