Orlando

At the website of Rogaland Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Orlando:

"Nothing changes. And they, during the span of three and a half seconds, everything has changed. What the future brings, only the Gods know. Half a century can be put behind in the glance of an eye. Are there times when you feel this, too?

Virginia Woolf wrote the novel Orlando in 1928, a highbrow tumult in which we follow the protagonist's life across continents and centuries. Orlando's life trajectory is manifold, a journey as, in turns, man and woman, young and old, poor and exceedingly rich. Over the span of 400 years, Orlando grows up, loses some illusion, and gains some new ones.

But who is Orlando? Everyone - and at the same time, fully and wholly himself and herself: Orlando is clumsy, inept in geography, and longs to be alone. Orlando is a good rider who drives six horses at a gallop over London Bridge. Orlando starts crying for the least of reasons. Orlando is an ambassador at the court of the Sultan in Constantinople. Orlando is a poet. Orlando has been kissed by a queen. Orlando dresses in crinoline and wears rouge on the cheeks.

Sigrid Strøm Reibo and Njål Helge Mjøs confront Virginia Woolf's book and untangles the adventurous, imagination-provoking story about Orlando for the stage, a story which blows up the classic drama as well as the limits of the credible. Behind the soundscape stands Simon Revholt, who mixes styles and genres, from renaissance's madrigals to glam rock’s David Bowie.

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason for the production of the year award to Orlando:

"The Hedda Award for production of the year goes to a most distinct production with artistic quality of a rare kind. The interaction and the dynamic between the different elements were unique, and created an overabundance of a party, while it precisely addressed themes that are highly topical in contemporary society. The prize should be considered as a tribute to all artists performing in, and standing behind, the production."

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason for the direction award to Sigrid Strøm Reibo. She got the award for her work with Orlando, and with As You Like It (The National Theatre 2017):

"Throughout the past decade or so, this year's direction winner has worked her way to a position as one of Norway's foremost younger directors. The award winner has developed a distinct character, a signature that can be referred to as musical as well as playful, sure in style and complex. Repeatedly, she has proven that she is capable of insightful instruction of her actors, providing each character with nuanced individual characteristics while maintaining a coherent, accordant whole. The two productions for which she receives this year's award can also be defined through their similarities as well as their differences. Both of them both pay tribute to and raise the difficulties of the human capacity for transformation. Both discuss the power of changing identity, gender confusion and the meaning of love in human life. Both are solved with an overview rich in detail plus the infectious joy of storytelling."

The Hedda Jury gave the following reason for the best leading actress award to Nina Ellen Ødegård:

"This year's winner possesses a great range as an actor. She moves easily and elegantly between the theatre's genres and effortlessly switches between satire, passion and seriousness. Without a hitch, she lets her role slide between the emotionally laden poetry and the sexual urges, whether she is dressed in a male or a female attire. In a production about life's most essential questions throughout centuries, this year's winner is excellently present with a wondrous, at times sharp and often comical expression that impresses."

SOURCES:

Rogaland Theatre, www.rogaland-teater.no, 21.10.2016, http://www.rogaland-teater.no/program/orlando

The Hedda Award, heddaprisen.no, 19.06.2017, https://www.heddaprisen.no/vinnere/2017

The Hedda Award, www.heddaprisen.no, https://www.heddaprisen.no/nominerte/2017

Import from the Scenekunst.no list of openings 12.09.2016

Heddadagene, www.heddadagene.no, 16.07.2018, https://www.heddadagene.no/kalender

• The Hedda Award 2017 - Production of the year

• The Hedda Award 2017 - Production of the year