Let’s rewind time. February 2020: Rehearsals for “Unity sought” are in full swing at Kilden theater in Kristiansand. March 2020: Norway closed. May 2021: Another attempt, failed, corona was to blame. But now, in August 2022, “Unity is sought” finally premiered. A more telling title after these years will take a long time to find. “Samhold searches” is based on a text written by playwright and director Jonas Corell Petersen. Together with the shoe dancers Ulla Marie Broch, Isabel Beth Toming, Ragnhild Meling Enoksen and Henrik Rafaelsen, he has then kneaded, cut, stretched and patched the text. The four shoe players have largely helped to create the vision from the ground up. In addition, 20 singers from Sølvstrupene, the senior choir at Kilden, are also involved. It is decisive in the foresight. Absurd, but wise Playwright Petersen is known for themes that deal with searching for a community. At the National Theater he staged three of his own productions which all revolved around the same theme: “Vi tygger på tidens knokler” (2015), “Island” (2016) and “Work title: Missing community” (2018). There were absurd, playful projections with mud baths, tropical nonsense balls and a guitar-playing Jesus. Some of the absurdity is still there, but it’s as if it’s muted, as if the whole presentation is more mature than the mood was in what Petersen delivered at the Nationaltheatret. Maybe because loneliness and togetherness, and finding one’s place is something different than two and a half years ago? SORRY WITH THE SORTING: We all have ours. Shoemaker Ragnhild (Ragnhild Meling Enoksen) is confronted with the fact that she does not sort her rubbish properly. To the right of Enoksen sits Ulla Marie Broch. Photo: Mads Nielsen Nice when it loosens up “Unity is sought” is a warm foresight. She does not tell a story, but fragments of many. It’s like different clippings that have been put together, and the meaning lies in how one who contributes weaves together what one sees and hears. It starts in something similar to a gymnasium. A thicket in the ceiling, ribbed walls to climb on, benches – and a piano. The four shoe dancers come out and speak to the audience as if they were participants in some kind of seminar – a bit confusing, but that’s probably also the point. To everything one has to fool around with, the answer is “I’ll take it in the app”. The scene is obvious and impersonal and testifies to a kind of fear of getting too close, of conversations and difficulties in finding words. But, typically enough, in the leadership group they discuss the really big questions, like what the earth is made of, why the sea was created. It takes time before the foresight loosens. But when the Sølvstrupene are in place in their uniforms: A baker, a DHL driver, a fisherman, a laundry helper, a butler, and they set about a form of fitness for the elderly – then foresight finds its groove. PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE: Sølvstrupene, the senior choir at Kilden, is indispensable in the presentation. Photo: Mads Nielsen A little crazier The contrast is obvious between the four applicant shoe players and the unity and fun of the Sølvstrupene. That choral singing provides better mental health and quality of life has been researched by several. That a choir provides unity, among other things, in that the different voices chime together and need each other for that chime, is revealed. The irony of it all is that choir singers are among the most vulnerable to being infected by corona. Here on stage, Sølvstrupene represents a safe community, almost detached from the hustle and bustle of the world. Here, of course, lies the great danger of cliché: Beautiful, older people full of calmness and wisdom about life, seeing the younger people’s struggles and their constant unrest in perspective. One is easily moved by such things. In between, there are some sparkling scenes, especially from Isabel Beth Toming. SPARKS: Isabel Beth Toming plays a good role in “Unity is sought”. In mimicry, energy and temperament, it is she who drives the whole thing forward in sometimes very well acted and surprising scenes. Photo: Mads Nielsen Henrik Rafaelsen shows new pages at Kilden in what for me is the highlight of the presentation: A text about a German baker who bakes bread with blood. Maybe they should have gotten here faster. Be a little crazier, cut some darlings. Uncompromising old I agree that I like the way Sølvstrupene participated. They have no lines, they just sing, and they don’t allow themselves to be bossed around. They follow the rules for the elderly, go where they are told, but they do not agree to any terms other than those they have seen themselves. That’s why it’s hard not to be moved when in the final number they sing a song with verses like “I’m a mushroom” or “I’m a stone” – miles away from all the self-realization the young people have been chasing. Finally, an insistence that the smiling people sing as they leave the stage: “It’s a wonderful life”. And yes, of course the cliché alarm goes off. But as long as the choir represents a counterweight, an answer to loneliness, it doesn’t matter. And I think: Would I rather be a stone, or would I chase the unrest? After “Unity is sought”, I’m not sure. news reviews Photo: Kilden Theater Title: “Unity is sought” City: Kilden Theater in Kristiansand Date: 27 August–24. September 2022 Length: 90 minutes Director/scenography: Jonas Corell Petersen Skodespelare: Ragnhild Meling Enoksen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ulla Marie Broch and Isabel Toming Musical arranger: Gaute Tønder Pianist: Vidar Bø Song teacher: Silje Hansen Flemmen Lighting design: Markus Tarasenko Fadum Costume design: Synne Reichelt Føreland Dramaturg: Endre Sannes Hadland Choir: Grete Bortelid, Inger Elise Øgård Christensen, Bente Landsværk, Eli Marit Vatten Rui, Wenche Solum Stallemo, Elisabeth Thorjussen, May Erna Karlsen, Tone Tollerød Fosse, Gro Line Gaudestad, Ruth Kolshus, Anne Loland, Siri Økstad, Kari Helene Wivestad, Mette Wang, Wenche Bariås, Aase Birkenes, Hildegun Dybdal, Kari Vik, Sissel Egeland, Bente Knudsen, Anne Aaneland, Olsen, Bente Raastad, Gro Kjelsrud, Petter Hangeland, Per Herman Zachariassen, Dagfinn Haarr, Odd Ridse Bentsen, Leif Lachmann-Mørck, Kåre Eie, Jon Holt and Gunnar Opedal
ttn-69
“Unity is sought” at Kilden Theater in Kristiansand – Reviews and recommendations
