The Ballad of Bohm and Bøhmer
The family performance The Ballad of Bohm and Bøhmer (2005) by Lars Vik was a collaboration production by Grenland Friteater and Det Åpne Teater (The Open Theatre): A story about two men, a growing friendship, their stories, anxiety, joy, freedom and friendship.
The shabby friends Bohm and Bøhmer awake to a new day without ties or a fixed address. How will they spend the day? Despite different experiences, they find common ground in play and storytelling.
Information
(Objekt ID 1604)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | January 22, 2005 |
| Produced by | Grenland Friteater |
| In collaboration with | The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) |
| Based on | The Ballad of Bohm and Bøhmer by Lars Vik |
| Audience | Families, Children (from 8) |
| Audience size | 17672 |
| Number of events | 201 |
| Language | Norwegian |
| Keywords | Theatre, Storytelling theatre, Fairytale, Performance for children |
| Running period | January 22, 2005 — February 7, 2009 |
| Duration | 45 min. |
| Website | Grenland Friteater |
Requirements to venue
| Minimum stage width | 7m |
| Maximum stage width | 7m |
| Minimum stage depth | 7m |
| Maximum stage depth | 7m |
| Minimum stage height | 3m |
| Blackout | Yes |
| Rigging time | 90 minutes |
| Downrigging time | 60 minutes |
| Audience | 100 |
| Other | Amphi theatre is preferred. |
The Ballad of Bohm and Bøhmer was a story about Bohm and Bøhmer.
Bohm and Bøhmer are vagrants, two bedraggled, but charming guys with a past within the brewery business. The brewery was sold and the production was moved elsewhere. Now, Bohm and Bøhmer are without jobs. For the time being, they don’t wear ties and they have no fixed addresses, but they both have an urge to tell stories, while wondering about the eternal question; "what is the meaning of life?". The two of them have embarked on a kind of eternal wandering, passing the time telling, or rather making up stories. It is as if they use the stories as an attempt to understand or accept their own destinies. Their stories are based on old Roman fairy tales, classical fables and riddles, as well as stories they make up there and then.
The energetic Bøhmer is content with the way things are, relieved he doesn't have the many duties and temptations of the bourgeoisie. Bohm, more prone to anxiety, misses the occasional good meal, a beer once in a while and the prospects of payday.
As The Ballad of Bohm and Bøhmer began, the two wake up amongst empty beer cases, soon ready to fill their day with stories, as such is their habit.
Sources:
Grenland Friteater, grenlandfriteater.com, 02.08.2010, http://www.grenlandfriteater.com/show_details.asp?ID=1011
Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival, pit.no, 02.08.2010, http://2005.pit.no/vis_tgruppe.asp?ProgType=1&gruppe=Det%20%C5pne%20Teater%20&%20Grenland%20Friteater
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Lars Vik | – Playwright |
| Lars Vik | – Direction |
| Franzisca Aarflot | – Direction |
| Katharina Barbosa Blad | – Costume design |
| Malin Bratlie | – Actor |
| Joakim Dan Jørgensen | – Actor |
| Vibeke Lie | – Actor |
| Helge Sveen | – Actor |
| Mette Kristensen | – Producer |
| Jonas Borgan Olsen (from 2009 to 2011) | – Producer |
| January 22, 2005 – DuVerden Sjøfartsmuseum og Vitensenter, Porsgrunn, Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival | Worldwide premiere |
"An unpretentious, simplistic, but warm story about loneliness and fear, community and comfort." Dagbladet.