Theater manager Runar Hodne must have felt a little genius when he made the deal with the Hoff/Oftebro family to do Eugene O’Neill’s world-famous play “Long Day’s Journey to Night”. It’s really surprising that no one has thought of it before. The casting has everything: skilled actors, high celebrity factor, full tabloid payoff. Familiar faces through the decades from theatre, film and soap operas. An older brother with a significant film career, a younger brother who is one of Norwegian theatre’s rare shooting stars. ALCOHOLIZED: Jakob Oftebro plays James jr. in this translation of Eugene O’Neill’s autobiographical drama. Photo: Lars Opstad / Oslo Nye Teater A happy family of actors who play an unhappy family of actors heading towards the abyss and into the deepest darkness. I was sure this had to be top or flop. But then the play, like most things in Norwegian theatre, still manages to end up in the middle. It’s almost unbelievable. BROTHERS: Jakob Oftebro and Jonas Hoff Oftebro play alcoholic and traumatized brothers in Eugene O’Neill’s “Long day’s journey towards night”. Photo: Lars Opstad / Oslo Nye Teater Problematically poetic For those who saw the interview with the family on “Lindmo” recently: Move all four onto the theater stage. Dress them in gray and slightly old-fashioned clothes, but let them keep their cheerfulness and juggling. Show them a barely visible drug addiction, and you have “Long day’s journey towards night” in a nutshell. The way I see it, the artistic team has not managed to land what “Lang dags ferd mot natt” should really be. It is strange that the production sets up a poetic darkness, while the actors challenge this with everything they are and have. Examples: Everything on stage is black. The costumes are old-fashioned and grey. On the back wall, the fog billows upward, nicely lit, it’s like fog sculptures that lock the characters inside. The music is lingering, stagnant, it sometimes has an eastern sound – perfectly fine compositions, but not very effective as theater music. This production needs something other than dark, poetic mood creation, and here the music has an important function in creating drive. But it doesn’t. It is as if someone has forgotten that these tools are also important storytellers. This creates a great contrast to what is playing out on stage. FAMILY DRAMA: The scenography is characterized by lighted smoke on the back wall, black interior and gray costumes. From left: Anette Hoff, Jakob Oftebro and Nils Ole Oftebro (front). Photo: Lars Opstad / Lars Opstad Family uniqueness Because there is juggling. There is quite a good atmosphere there. It seems as if director Hodne has given the actors relatively free rein, at least letting them play out their well-known characteristics. It’s understandable, and it’s not necessarily stupid. After all, that’s what people want. It is clear that it is extra fun when James Jr. (Jakob Oftebro) firmly and constantly parodies his father. It is extra soft when the scenes with proximity are played out. That’s how you can hear a pin drop when the two brothers talk about jealousy late at night. But there is still a big contrast between the playing style and the darkness the aesthetics add up to. And this contrast is just in the way. THOUGHTFUL: Nils Ole Oftebro as the actor James Tyrone sr. and his wife Mary Cavan Tyrone (in reality Anette Hoff – and Oftebro’s wife). Photo: Lars Opstad / Oslo Nye Teater When an acting family plays an acting family, it is of course the interaction that is central. And in the recognisable, in the middle of the juggling, it is Jonas Hoff Oftebro who stands out with varied and interesting play. He takes the rhythm down when needed, lowers his voice and introduces an intense calm, he allows the lines to become close, everyday, almost familial. He succeeds several times in opening small spaces in the lines and expanding the narrative. FATHER AND SON: Jonas Hoff Oftebro makes the most interesting character in “Lang dags ferd mot natt” as Edmund, according to news’s critic. Nils Ole Oftebro on the right. Photo: Lars Opstad The challenge is that the piece does not properly penetrate the abyss O’Neill has left open. The actors get to the point where they look down into the darkness, look at each other, think “nah” and stay. Do they look addicts, this quartet? No. Do we believe they are? Not really. For that, the expression is too smooth. So even though it’s dark and they feel terrible, the final scene with the wedding dress is almost tame. And that even though Anette Hoff has some really nice moments where she plays out mother Mary’s morphine addiction. DRUGS AND LONELINESS: Loneliness has ruined a lot for the Tyrone family. Each of the four family members has been driven into substance abuse, and during the theater performance all the traumas come to the fore. It is hard to be a mother, easier to escape into intoxication for Mary Tyrone (Anette Hoff). Photo: Lars Opstad / Oslo Nye Teater At the same time, this is theater history. For the first time, an entire acting family plays all the roles in O’Neill’s play, we believe Oslo Nye Teater. “Long day’s journey towards night” is in this sense a rare opportunity. It could only get so much sharper, more painful and darker. news reviews Title: “Lang dags ferd mot natt” by Eugene O’Neill Director: Runar Hodne Where: Oslo Nye Teater Date: January 18 – October 9 Translation: Bjørn Herrman Costume design: Maria Gyllenhoff Music: Lars Petter Hagen Scenography and lighting design: Clement Irbil Mask manager: Katja Langer Props: Lisa Whetmore and Nina Meyer Jacobsen Dramaturg: Ingrid Tønder In the roles: Nils Ole Oftebro, Anette Hoff, Jakob Oftebro, Jonas Hoff Oftebro OFTEBRO AT LINDMO: The whole gang is gathered in the TV studio to discuss the new theater setup and family cooperation. Broadcast on NRK1 on 12 January 2024.
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“Long day’s journey towards night” at Oslo Nye Teater – news Culture and entertainment
