The opening scene in Trøndelag Teater’s version of Ingvild H. Rishøi’s Christmas novel “Stargate” sets a cheerful and magical tone for the performance. In a light dusting of snow, someone descends into hiding. Not an angel this time, but the caretaker. Who immediately sets about cleaning the windows. This is how director Maria Drangeid establishes a Christmas-themed theater space where everything is possible – possibly impossible. This means that when ten-year-old Ronja (Emma Caroline Deichmann) bounces into the tired living room at home, kicks off her snow joggers, throws herself on the sofa and eats cornflakes with her legs on the table, we are where we should be: in Ingvild H. Rishøi’s hopeful rich. GOOD ATMOSPHERE: Dad is playing, Melissa and Ronja are having a good time, the janitor is washing windows. It will soon get worse for the little family of three. From left: Patrick Hilmar Iversen, Madeleine Brandtzæg Nilsen, Christian Eidem and Emma Caroline Deichmann. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN Brimstones on Tøyen “Stargate” is a kind of modern answer to HC Andersen’s fairy tale “The Girl with Brimstones”, located close to our time and on Tøyen in Oslo. But where the girl with the sulfur sticks most of all fears a beating if she comes home without having sold any sticks, intoxication and neglect form the backdrop for Ronja in “Stargate”. At home, there is no one to look after, and as the story draws to a close, it is child protection that is the biggest threat. Ronja and her sister Melissa would rather perish than be picked up by child protection. The father is barely doing the best he can. The sisters are really quite alone in the world. ANGEL: The caretaker (Christian Eidem) is a saving angel for Ronja (Emma Caroline Deichmann). But no one can save a dad who doesn’t want to be saved. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN It starts on a merry Christmas: the guardian angel has found a job that Ronja’s father can apply for. Christmas tree sellers are needed next to the petrol station. For once the father makes an attempt, and for once he succeeds. But not for long. Soon the money is used up on alcohol, and it’s time to sleep off the intoxication. Melissa steps in for him, and just like that, Ronja is also standing there selling Christmas greens so there is room left. It’s too good to be true. BUSINESS: Tommy, Melissa and Ronja make good money on commission by selling decorative greenery when the boss is away. From left: Paal Herman Ims, Madeleine Brandtzæg Nilsen and Emma Caroline Deichmann. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN Let the trees live Rishøi’s novel functions as theater because Maria Drangeid, who has both dramatized and directed the story, elevates it into something theatrical and magical. From the beginning with the falling caretaker via Fredrik Storsveen’s funny Christmas music to an abrupt wandering Christmas trees. Drangeid has managed to bring the essence of Rishøi’s novel into Ronja’s lines, they are well-formulated and pick up the tone from the book in a good way. COME TO LIFE ON STAGE: Help! It’s Christmas, and the trees have got legs to walk on. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN But the most important thing is that she has dared to be quite frank about the novel and thus turned it into good theater – for example by letting the Christmas trees come to life. This is how large spaces are created for playing with Rishøi’s novel. A light darkness At the same time, some of the characters can seem caricatured: like Christmas tree seller Tommy (Paal Herman Ims), who is equipped with unnaturally large ears. Or the school friend Stella, dad’s friend Sonja and the Christmas tree manager Eriksen, who are all cunningly naughty. But it is only those whom Ronja fears are subjected to this caricature. IN HIDDEN: Under the fir trees they are safe when night descends black over them. Ronja, Tommy and Melissa are “partners in crime” in “Stargate”. From left: Emma Caroline Deichmann, Paal Herman Ims and Madeleine Brandtzæg Nilsen. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN As these three are portrayed on stage, all played by Synnøve Fossum Eriksen, they are shown to the audience through ten-year-old Ronja’s eyes, as she sees them. The father is not like that. He is a prankster who cannot take care of his children. And exactly this darkness at home drowns in the Christmas tree fun. Father (Patrick Hilmar Iversen) could play out several sides of the drug addiction and thus show how Ronja’s life becomes difficult when he cannot stand on his feet. NEDSNØDD: Maybe there is hope to be found on Christmas Eve, maybe not. Ronja and Melissa have to fend for themselves out in the cold. Photo: VEGARD EGGEN Steadfast “Stargate” is not a children’s show. Precisely for this reason, director Drangeid could well have given more space to the father’s neglect. Even if it is interpreted for the audience through the eyes of the loyal child, it would make the contrast greater with the merry Christmas tree dance where the Christmas wreaths fly between the walls. In the middle of it all stands Emma Caroline Deichmann and plays a solid role as Ronja. The interaction with the others is nice, but it is her believable ten-year-old who carries this performance. When Christmas darkness descends, she is as steadfast as the girl with the brimstones. In the series of Christmas performances that show that Christmas is not as joyful as one might wish and believe, “Stargate” at Trøndelag Theater is a fresh and enjoyable addition. Not least thanks to Emma Caroline Deichmann. news reviews Title: “Stargate” Time: Showing until 30 December Place: Trøndelag Teater, Trondheim Artistic team: Direction and dramatization: Maria Drangeid. Based on the novel “Stargate” by Ingvild H. Rishøi. Scenography and costumes: Ida Grimsgaard Composer: Fredrik Storsveen Lighting design: Steffen Telstad Dramaturg: Mina Rype Stokke Production team: Inspector: Hanna Solstad / Katrine Wisth Prompter: Ann Eli Aasgård Technical coordinator: Martin Didrichsen Mask manager: Livinger Ferner Diesen Sound manager: Oliver Hofstad Løding Soundboard operator: Anders Schille Props manager: Karl-Martin Hoddevik Light master: Are Skarra Kvitnes Light table operator: Daniel Takle Piel Stage manager: Geir Dyrdal / Jens Petter Fjellheim Piece manager costume: May Ona Lintho Piece manager dressers: Renee Desmond Carpenter: Egil Buseth Metal worker: Per Arne Johansen Painter’s room: Toril Skipnes and Anita Gundersen Upholsterer: Charlotta Winger Published 07.11.2024, at 14.16
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“Stargate” at Trøndelag Theater – Reviews and recommendations
