Frank

Frank (2005) was a theatre production by The Norwegian Theatre, the world premiere of the play by Maria Tryti Vennerød. This play was the winner of a playwrighting competition arranged by The Norwegian Theatre and the centenary celebration Norway 2005. The production was performed at the venue called Prøvesalen, The Norwegian Theatre (now called Scene 3).

Kjersti Haugen directed it. The production was her diploma assignment at the direction study, The National Academy of Theatre, Oslo.

Ingrid Tønder was nominated for The Hedda Award 2005 in the best visual design category for her lighting design for The Slope and Frank, both at The Norwegian Theatre.

Information

(Objekt ID 31965)
Object type Production
Premiere April 7, 2005
Produced by The Norwegian Theatre
Based on Frank by Maria Tryti Vennerød
Audience Adults, Youth
Audience size 1839
Number of events 20
Language Norwegian Nynorsk
Keywords Drama, Theatre
Running period April 7, 2005  
More

At the webpage of The Norwegian Theatre the following, among other things, was written about Frank:

"As part of the 100 year celebration of national independence The Norwegian Theatre and Norway 2005 announced a Swedish-Norwegian drama contest. In competition with approximately 60 other scripts the young Norwegian playwright Maria Tryti Vennerød won. April 7 the winning script Frank opened in Prøvesalen (literally: The Rehearsal Room). The direction is by Kjersti Haugen, who with this production graduates from the four-year direction study at The National Academy of Theatre.

(...)

The jury was led by the writer Per Olov Enquist, and in the reason given for the award, the following is said; 'A young man is incarcerated in a prison filled with open doors in all directions. The main character wants a life project, and dreams of consistency and coherence, but he gets lost in his own little theatre of the world. Frank is a playful fable about the undefinable character of freedom. The text is stylistically conscious, with clear references to expressionist, surreal and absurdist writing art. But the piece also has a clearly personal voice, filled with originality, a distinct character and a search for meaning.'

Maria Tryti Vennerød (born 1978) is from Førde in the county of Sogn og Fjordane. She made her debut with More and Take Me by the Wings during The Norwegian Drama Festival in 2002. Later she has been able to sell and get the two plays performed at Sogn of Fjordane Theatre (SoFT). The spring of 2004 she was yet again picked out for The Norwegian Drama Festival with the play The Lady at the Counter. In March 2005 Maria Tryti Vennerød won the national Ibsen Prize."

SOURCES:

Einar Dahl's private archive, donated by Einar Dahl, 22.01.2015

The Norwegian Theatre, Frank, www.detnorsketeatret.no, 17.10.2012, http://www.detnorsketeatret.no/index.php?option=com_play&view=play&playid=252

Sceneweb on The Hedda Award 2005, www.sceneweb.no, 17.10.2012, http://www.sceneweb.no/en/awarding/23849/The_Hedda_Award_2005-2005

Performance dates
April 7, 2005Scene 3 (tidligere Prøvesalen), The Norwegian Theatre Worldwide premiere