Visualize it. An elite league club with a history rich in tradition and a position at the top of the table must upgrade its tired home pitch. They need a place to play football in the meantime, with space for large crowds. But the owner hesitates. He thinks it will be expensive. He instead points to the football field in the neighboring town, which a rival team uses. On the small field where the boys’ teams train. How about borrowing one of them instead? When the coach and players protest, he points out that you can’t always drive a Rolls-Royce. Sometimes you have to make do with a Volvo. FINGERS IN THE EARS? What Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum is proposing has been proposed and rejected a number of times before. Photo: Cicilie Sigrid Andersen / news Would it happen? Hardly. But that is exactly the message Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum has given to the National Theatre. He sees it as out of the question to set aside more than 3 billion for the much-needed rehabilitation of the theatre. In a report from Statsbygg earlier this year, three possible solutions were presented, where an absolute minimum solution received a price tag of 7 billion. The other two solutions both have a price tag of between NOK 9 and 10 billion. One of them, which involves a new building on Tullinløkka in central Oslo, is the one recommended by the theater and Statsbygg. This is populism, and perhaps quite an effective one at that. Vedum must have probably come to the conclusion that he will gain more than he will lose by coming up with a proposal that in practice chokes Norway’s most important theatre. That people don’t care enough. Or at least that they will think that “yes, um, it’s true, there are many scenes around. Can’t the National Theater just borrow one or two of them?” But in order to deliver such a message with conviction, Vedum must have had his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly to himself every time he passed someone who actually knew something about theater management and cultural politics. Because what he says doesn’t make sense. POOR CONSTITUTION: The 1899 theater building is partially shrouded in tarpaulin to protect passers-by. Photo: Christopher Isachsen Sandøy / news The National Theater has been pleading for money for rehabilitation for several decades. They need two things. They need to get work started on the theater building itself, which is falling apart. And they need a place to play shows while this work is happening. Both are very, very expensive. And it’s not like, to put it gently, that no one has ever wondered whether the theater can’t just borrow another stage for so long. The last to leave was former Minister of Culture Abid Raja (V), who also believed that the only solution would be to move in with someone else for that long. An examination of the existing scenes was made, and then he no longer thought so. Because the answer, now as it always has been, is no. It is not possible. The National Theater is a huge organisation. They play around 700 shows a year. Over a third is played on the main stage, which has room for 737 spectators. And it’s these shows where the bulk of their income comes from. THINKING IN SIMILAR LINES: Abid Raja (V) also originally wanted the National Theater to join already existing stages in Oslo when he was Minister of Culture. An investigation showed that all relevant scenes were all in use. Photo: Maria Kleppe Vihovde They have 280 employees, of which almost two hundred work in the theater building itself. There is no stage in Oslo that can temporarily host such a mammoth. Especially not considering that the other stages in the city, firstly, are not designed for large-scale theater and, secondly, are already in use. In other words, the National Theater cannot maintain operations at the level they are now at without another place to be, a separate place, a large place, with several stages and room for a great many people. PREFERRED SOLUTION: Statsbygg and the National Theater want new stages under the ground at Tullinløkka. Photo: Rodeo Rebuilding/Statsbygg It’s easy to wish things were different. That one government after another had not kicked the ball in front of them, because maintenance is expensive and boring. That the National Theater itself over the years has not made a greater effort to get people on board, and not just the politicians, when they are fighting a tough battle for their own future. It may be that there are some who regret it in the Ministry of Culture now, because they did not go ahead with a plan from 2019, in which the National Theater proposed to temporarily move into the premises of the old Munch museum on Tøyen, with the blessing of Oslo municipality. It is no wonder that some people think that eighteen years sounds like an awfully long time for a rehabilitation project. It’s no wonder that some grumble that it can hardly be sustainable to pop up expensive new buildings here and there, even though the theater will need more stages outside the building even after the rehabilitation is finished. GRAND ROOM: Over seven hundred spectators can sit on the National Theatre’s main stage. This is where most of the theatre’s income is generated. Photo: Anders Fehn But this is where we are now. This will be difficult, and it will be expensive. And that’s already after the theater’s plans have been greatly scaled back compared to what they originally wanted. Because it’s not just a temporary home they need. Theater buildings are not what they were at the time in 1899. Back then, ventilation and universal design were probably not as important as they are today. Everything that needs to be bigger and newer and better will take up space, so much space that the theater loses both the Amphiscene and the Painting Hall. The need for scenes outside the main building itself will therefore be there even after the rehabilitation is over. And as far as people in Oslo and the surrounding area are concerned, they bought a total of over 3 million tickets to the capital’s theaters during last year. The audience is there. Then the houses, the scenes, must be there too. Yes, times are tough. It is demanding to ask for, and give, money for cultural purposes when there is a crying need for everything, everywhere. But come on. Oslo is not Venice. Oslo is not Athens. It is not the case that the majority of the city are inalienable and conservation-worthy historical monuments that suck the maintenance coffers empty. But we actually have a few things we need to take care of. For example, the objects and ships in the Viking Age Museum. The other is the Nationaltheatret, home to generations upon generations of Norwegian actors, for memorable productions of Norwegian and international drama, and a beloved venue for so many of those who visit it each year. Norwegian history and culture oozes from the walls. REACTS STRONGLY: The National Theatre’s boss Kristian Seltun says it is impossible to operate within the framework outlined by the finance minister without dismissing many employees. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news For that reason, it is entirely possible, also for centre-party politicians, to find solid, proud, nationally romantic arguments for why these institutions must be preserved. Ola Borten Moe asked for abrupt budget cuts for the Viking Age Museum, and now when Vedum wants to cut the wings of the National Theatre. He wants theater manager Kristian Seltun & co. should learn to drive a Volvo. Well, the trillion dollar plan is the Volvo. The minimum solution is the Lada. Vedum’s proposal is a scooter that lacks a wheel. Published 28.10.2024, at 20.02 Updated 28.10.2024, at 20.36
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Vedum must have kept his fingers in his ears – Statement
