She called the feminist bible, the book “Woman, know your body”. The handbook on women’s health was revolutionary when it came out – at a time when abortion was still not legal in Norway. A lot has happened since the book was first published. Much has also happened since the Danish play based on the book premiered in 2010. UNDERLIFE: Biology is central to the presentation “Kvinne kjnen din kropp”. Here, Kasper Skovli Botnen (with balloons) is a living representation of a woman’s abdomen. The balloons are the ovaries. Reidun Melvær Berge draws and explains. Photo: Andreas Roksvaag Old and new “Woman know your body” has been shown in Norway several times – and all times Danish Kamilla Wargo Brekling has been the director. She is also the playwright behind the play. A quick scan of the performance archive shows that she has used the same scenography both in 2010, 2016 and in 2024 – a scenography that works well. He is easy to move around and provides a lot of room and opportunities for the shoe players. But the fact that a piece is so similar over so many years and so many performances is also a bit strange. As if it’s on autopilot. The impersonation is written for two shoe dancers, and as in the book, the woman and the female body are at the center. COAT AND FREEJORT: Reidun Melvær Berge gives life and nuance to many different phases of being a woman. Different employment practices are reviewed in the foresight. Reidun Melvær Berge and Kasper Skovli Botnen. “Woman, know your body” is a celebration of the female body. Here: Reidun Melvær Berge. Therefore, some scenes are pure biology lessons, others deal with feelings and women’s role in society today. The play plays out a number of aspects of being a woman, so many will have opportunities to get to know themselves again. The vision also uses a lot of humor. The mix between humor, getting to know each other, biology and self-help gives a feel-good result. The play is at the same time current and backwards. Among other things, the scenes dealing with menstruation, fertility problems, body pressure and plastic surgery are updated and current. Other aspects of the play are more in the background: such as that all desire in the play is directed towards the opposite sex, and that fantasies about a well-equipped melanin-rich man help to substantiate unnecessary stereotypes. It tells me that the play is aimed at heterosexual, white, able-bodied women. But for all intents and purposes, they are mostly the ones who go to the theater at the moment. HEARD OF SOMEONE: Kasper Skovli Botnen and Reidun Melvær Berge as two teenage girls who say that they have heard of someone “who has done it”. Photo: Andreas Roksvaag Linguistically challenging So if “Kvinne knen din kropp” sometimes knocks on open doors, it is just as well played at the West Norwegian Theater in Bergen. The performance is written for two actors, and the interaction between Reidun Melvær Berge and Kasper Skovli Botnen is good (Botnen probably has the play under his skin, he played the same role when the play was staged at Teater Ibsen in Skien in 2016). The jump between humor and seriousness is fine. A somewhat predictable piece is saved by good playing, Berge is particularly good in all the rapid changes she has to go through in both temperament and feelings. But they have forgotten something about the West Norwegian Theatre: Nynorsk. The director and artistic team have been brought in from Denmark – with the exception of the theater manager himself who is co-directing. During the premiere, it became clear that language could not have been the most important thing during the trial period: Major Nynorsk mistakes occurred, so to speak, throughout the screening. “Her” instead of “her”, “him” instead of “he” – and corrections of the type “I run … I run”. Either they have missed the translation of the script, or the theater has not been good enough at securing their actors in Nynorsk as the stage language. This is the same theater that proudly housed Jon Fosse word for word in December, but this time it was missed for the Nynorsk. A perfectly decent feel-good evening in the theater is this time disrupted by linguistic rubbish and a lack of innovation. news reports Title: “Woman know your body” Theatre: Det Vestnorske Teateret, Bergen Date: 8 March 2024 Performance period: 8 March–20 April Playwright and director: Kamilla Wargo Brekling Co-director: Thomas By Scenography and costume design: Helle Damgård Sound design: Rasmus O. Bunton Lighting design: Sara Clemmensen On stage: Reidun Melvær Berge and Kasper Skovli Botnen Photo: Stig Håvard Dirdal
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“Kvinne knen din din kropp” at Det Westnorske Teateret, Bergen – Reviews and recommendations
