Women and clothes somehow belong together. From the Norns in the Norse tradition – who spun human destinies with yarn and wove the world together – to insta-knitters today. The women sew, crochet, knit – and shop. Although the second-hand trend has by all means found a foothold in Norway, there are still children, young girls and women in factories elsewhere in the world sewing garments upon garments in conditions that a Norwegian consumer would hardly recognize if she had been there herself. The play “Den som henging i en tråd” is about just this last. At Teatret Vårt in Molde, they have tackled what one might call local workers’ literature, namely Nini Roll Anker’s novel from 1935 with the same title. Anker came from Molde, and Molde and Romsdalen were formerly the capital of the clothing industry in Norway. Clothes create people Playwright and director Toril Solvang is tempted to lift his gaze from the 1930s in Romsdalen and out to the clothing factories in Bangladesh, India and China today. The novel is about seamstress Karna, who struggles to survive when the factory suddenly closes. In addition, she fights for reputation and honor. At the same time, she wants to be freed, to live a little, but she doesn’t dare. The premise for the foresight in Molde is that you find a Karna in every nook and cranny, they are promoting Karna today. Based on the life of the woman in the novel, she is as likely to be a girl who sews in Bangladesh, a mother who transports discarded clothes from town to town in the slums, or a girl trapped in a factory that collapsed. FASHION OR FILLER? Kostyma is in any case a party in the screening “The one hanging by a thread” at Teatret Vårt in Molde. From left: Kjersti Botn Sandal, Johanna Mørck, Ingrid Myhre Løvik. Photo: Tingh / Teatret Vårt, Molde Fjong fashion and rags What makes Teatret Vårt close for a long time is the weight of the scenography. Marcus Olsson has thrown together a mountain of clothes. Gloves and coats, baby trousers and shawls are piled in the shape of mountains and fjords. It’s inviting, looks like crazy, and it’s colorful. When they close with this move, it is because history is connected to this waste, the three shoe players Johanna Mørck, Kjersti Botn Sandal and Ingrid Myhre Løvik stand and stomp in. The tired jogging bottoms are their fate. Volangane their future and hope. They themselves stand there like a textile remnant party, dressed in costumes that look like both dreams and nightmares, fjong fashion and poor rags. SERIOUSNESS AND HUMOR: The presentation is about the clothing industry and women’s rights. Photo: Tingh / Teatret Vårt, Molde In a sequence, they put on layer by layer until they can hardly move and their clothes are falling apart. It is strong and eloquent. It’s a shame, because there’s a tirade right after about labor rights – it’s like it’s already been said, just without words. And the wordless ring loudest when it comes to climate, I think so anyway. We have heard so much, we have heard it all before, we close our ears. But when the same message is danced or shown, then it is something else. Without a thread Anyone who yearns to see Nini Roll Anker’s novel unfold on stage will find only fragments. Perhaps one should read a little beforehand, because it is a nice, small book. She is regarded as one of the foremost working-class novels. Anker depicts longing and hope poetically and intensely, full of feelings. But here it is a political project that plays the main role. A bit as if they are shouting: Women in all countries, unite! The shoe players depict different aspects of the challenges a woman’s life can have, they are delightfully cheeky and elegant at the same time. ACCIDENT: A woman’s life in Nini Roll Anker’s novel is also a life with longing. A life where men set the precedent, and where one has to fight one’s way. Ingrid Myhre Løvik plays, among other things, Karna’s friend Rakel. She ends up in an accident. Photo: Tingh / Teatret Vårt, Molde “Den som heng i en tråd” takes in many issues that plague society now – and then. If a life in the textile industry may seem distant to many, the issue of abortion, for example, is still relevant. The play is one of those marking the 50th anniversary of Teatret Vårt. And it’s a strong mark. I hope it hits so that it hits. The piece pointed the finger at how we dress today, here the (clothing) skeleton falls out of the closet. “Clothes make us new”, they say somewhere. Clothes become a place where you can hide, something you can hide in and duck away from the world. Despite the visual fun in Molde, it hits me with full force: There are no magical wardrobes. Only in Narnia, and Narnia is fiction. news reports Title: “Den som heng i en tråd” City: Teatret Vårt, Molde Date: 24.08–28.09.2022 Duration: 80 minutes (without intermission) Based on: Nini Roll Anker’s novel “Den som heng i en tråd” Director: Toril Solvang Cast: Johanna Mørck, Ingrid Myhre Løvik and Kjersti Botn Sandal Set designer and costume designer: Marcus Olson Lighting designer: Jonas PA Fuglseth Composer: Sandra Kolstad Mask designer: Hanna Rönnbäck Dramaturg: Toril Solvang
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“The one who hangs in a thread” at Teatret Vårt, Molde – Reviews and recommendations
