“Welcome, long-suffering mind, that will listen,” says Julie in the prologue to the world-famous play about her and her lover Romeo. A play that has now been staged at Det Norske Teatret for the sixth time. And that with an ever-so-small historical rush: When the theater moved into the building they have been in since almost 40 years ago, the first performance was “Romeo and Juliet”. Liv Bernhoft Osa and Svein Tindberg played the title roles. They do the same now – half a human age later. RUSTAR IKKJE: Romeo and Juliet in 1985, played by Liv Bernhoft Osa and Svein Tindberg. Our critic would like them to use the same costumes now as then. Photo: Morten Krogvold Because here everything has been changed. The teenagers Romeo and Juliet are played by actors of a mature age, while the adults here in Shakespeare are young. With this, director and theater manager Erik Ulfsby will highlight Shakespeare’s text and give it the calmness and weight that experienced actors put into it. And he wants to say something about what love is, that he can hit hard and desire wildly even if one has passed the midlife crisis. The project has courage and a sweet dose of charm, but is only partially closed. Loud smack For the long-suffering soul who wants to listen, foresight is a gift. Here, the text comes across well, and the stories that are told along the way get plenty of space. For example, when Romeo tells his closest friend Mercutio (Lasse Kolsrud) about the fairy queen Mab. With one the whole hall sits and listens to the story about her. The same happens when Father Lorenzo (Kenneth Homstad) tells about his herbs. The calmness is nice and gives time to take in the context in which love can play out. LOVE: Svein Tindberg as Romeo and Liv Bernhoft Osa as Julie find love with desire and courage. The interaction is good. But why do they choose death? Photo: Magnus Skrede There is nothing strange about the fact that you can fall in love wildly stronger than you are in life. Neither Tindberg nor Osa bounced off guard like lambs on pasture, but the attraction between the two is strong. And mature, even if they kiss a pediatrician, loudly smack. The attraction in Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting (as anyone who has seen Baz Luhrman’s film adaptation will remember) is not as defining here. What I miss most is the rawness, the absoluteness that is the premise of Shakespeare – the feeling that there is no alternative, that it is hard or bad. Contrasts The contrast between the lines and the bodies that say them is sometimes so great that one can wonder. It is as if the bodies tell that they have been out on winter nights before, that they have enough wisdom to know that there are always ways out. While the text says that there is nothing before or after, the words are bursting with closure and desperation. I don’t always get this contrast to come up in my vision. That death is the natural choice for Romeo and Juliet doesn’t quite make sense to me. When Romeo and Juliet are on stage, they define their own value and set the energy. But in their parents, for example in Julie’s mother (Gina Bernhoft Gørvell), a different energy enters, and the power relationship between children and adults becomes inferior. Gørvell plays the mother with young, restless energy, Osa plays her daughter with a calmness that few fourteen-year-olds have today. (Then it is also the case that Gørvell is Osa’s daughter in real life, so here a lot is turned upside down.) Kasper, Jesper, Jonatan Lasse Kolsrud make an excellent Mercutio in this presentation. Likeins Kirsti Stubø as Grandma and Kenneth Homstad as Father Lorenzo. Playwright and marketer Edvard Hoem makes his debut here as an actor in the roles of the prince of Verona and a kind of poet. Not bad for having passed 70, but stiff at times. Here’s the pathos to pick up! That’s what the poet’s lines will rely on. POET AND DEBUTANT: Edvard Hoem on stage in his first role. Photo: Magnus Skrede The scenography resembles the inside of a church, and is cleverly designed with skaters in mind who don’t really indulge in balcony climbing in their spare time. The costume has hints of the Middle Ages, and the masquerade ball is amusingly solved with a horse’s head. Romeo and his two companions, Mercutio and Benvolio (Per Schaanning) are sometimes reminiscent of the three robbers from Cardamom town where they merrily sneak around. MAKES VERONA UNSAFE: Mercutio, Romeo and Benvolio are in their prime, one is led to believe, and act accordingly. From left Lasse Kolsrud as Mercutio, Svein Tindberg as Romeo and Per Schaanning as Benvolio. Photo: Magnus Skrede The eye that sees Director Erik Ulfsby makes an interesting attempt, and ends up letting the text shine. At the same time, the contrasts are so great that “Romeo and Juliet” struggles to find a rhythm in the whole. From the poet’s slow cane steps to the mother’s cheerful outbursts and Mrs. Capulet’s furious words (“Trassigförkje!”). The expression is poetic, but somewhat groping and not quite collected. The rawness and the absolute belong to the youth, nevertheless Tindberg and Osa bring in interesting wisdom and calmness in a piece that is so filled to the brim with far. I think that the longer one has lived, the more interesting this version of “Romeo and Juliet” will be. The more life-experienced eye sees, the more one finds. Because this is how it is in Verona this time: It is the old who are the oldest. news Reviewer Photo: Magnus Skrede Title: “Romeo and Juliet” Place: Det norske teatret, Oslo. With: Liv Bernhoft Osa and Svein Tindberg. Director: Erik Ulfsby Choreographer: Oleg Glushkov. Composer: Silje Halstensen. Scenography and costume design: Milja Salovaara Lighting design: Martin Myrvold. Translator: Edvard Hoem. Dramaturg: Siri Løkholm Ramberg. Hi! I review theatre, performing arts and dance for news as a freelancer. Also read my reviews of “Kristin Lavransdotter” at Det Norske Teatret, of the play “Don Juan” at Trøndelag Teater or “Snøsøstera” at Det Norske Teateret.
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“Romeo and Juliet” at the Norwegian Theater – Reviews and recommendations
