Albert & Anna

Albert & Anna (2017) is a theatre production by The Norwegian Touring Theatre in collaboration with The National Stage. Albert & Anna is the world premiere of a play by Frode Grytten. The production had its premiere in Teaterkjelleren, The National Stage, during Bergen International Festival 2017.

Hildegun Riise directed it.

Sverre Bentzen played the elder Albert.

Kari Simonsen played the elder Anna.

Information

(Objekt ID 71412)
Object type Production
Premiere May 23, 2017
Produced by The Norwegian Touring Theatre (Riksteatret), The National Stage
In collaboration with Bergen International Festival
Based on Albert & Anna by Frode Grytten
Audience Adults
Language Norwegian
Keywords Theatre
Running period May 23, 2017  
Duration 140 minutes, including an interval
Website DNS, Riksteatret
More

At the webpage of The Norwegian Touring Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Albert & Anna:

"We get close to Albert and Anna, two elderly people who have loved one another throughout a long life. Albert & Anna is a story of ordinary love, the kind of love that isn't observed by anyone but those sharing it.

As partners through life, Albert and Anna have cultivated their garden and cultivated each other. But now, Anna is in the process of disappearing, and when she goes, Albert also fears losing himself. In the performance, they are reunited with the young Anna and the young Albert. Humorous and warm flashbacks depict their life together and the bonds they share through seasons in change."

SOURCES:

The National Stage, dns.no, 30.03.2017,  http://www.dns.no/program/2017/albert-anna/

Import from the Scenekunst.no list of openings 30.03.2017

The Norwegian Touring Theatre, www.riksteatret.no, 15.09.17, http://www.riksteatret.no/repertoar/albert-og-anna/

Contributors (18)
Name Role
Frode Grytten – Playwright
Hildegun Riise – Direction
Sigrid Edvardsson – Choreography
Espen Leite – Music
Solrun Toft Iversen – Dramaturge
Tine Thomassen – Dramaturge
Åse Hegrenes – Stage design
Åse Hegrenes – Costume design
Åsmund Bøe – Video/Film
Gyril Høgberg – Lighting design
Sverre Bentzen – Actor (Albert)
Stine Robin Eskildsen – Actor (Den unge Anna)
Kari Simonsen – Actor (Anna)
Kristoffer Sagmo Aalberg – Actor (Den unge Albert)
Espen Leite – Musician
Elisabeth Berentsen Bredal – Stage manager
Elisabeth Berentsen Bredal – Tour manager
Pernille Skaansar – Producer
Performance dates
Festivals (1)
Heddadagene June 15, 2017
Press coverage

Lillian Bikset, En berørende beretning om et alminnelig ektepars alminnelige sorger (literally: A moving story of an ordinary married couple's ordinary sorrows), Dagbladet May 23 2017:

"Albert & Anna follows the old Albert (Sverre Bentzen) and the old Anna (Kari Simonsen) through four seasons. Parallelly, memories of the young Albert (Kristoffer Sagmo Aalberg) and the young Anna (Stine Robin Berg Hansen) through the same seasons come to life. The symbols for the seasons are many and clear: The action takes place in the garden, evocatively formed by Åse Hegrenes, and laden with metaphorical growth and decline. (...) Sverre Bentzen and Kari Simonsen show the two old ones with finely tuned richness in detail. She depicts the dementia-ridden Anna's agelessness and aging, the mix of childishness and deterioration, unpredictable changes and a constant core. He depicts the healthy-minded Albert's development and attempts at balancing, the conflict between the wish to be strong and to keep the promises of 'until death' for them both, and the growing, guilt-ridden knowledge that there are limits to how much he can manage."