Cally

At the website of The Norwegian Theatre the following, among other things, is written about Cally:

"Cally Monrad was one of the greatest cultural personalities and The Norwegian Theatre's first female head. Still, few people remember her, and her portrait doesn't hang on the theatre's wall.

In Norway, Cally Monrad was a big name in culture during the first part of the 1900s. She came from a well-known academic family, and she was a charismatic, sought-after singer who sung romances and opera on stages in Norway and abroad for decades. She was a recognised poet, and published Norway's first occult novel. Despite being butchered by the critics, the book immediately became a bestseller.

Monrad also was infamous for her unstable private life and her many men. In 1942 she became the first and until now only female head of The Norwegian Theatre. The Norwegian Nazi Party Nasjonal Samling (literally: National Unity) appointed her. That is why history has erased her, and her portrait is not to find at any wall within The Norwegian Theatre - something she would likely have disliked intensely. In this play, she returns to The Norwegian Theatre to tell her story.

Ruth Lillegraven is best known as a poet. She has published several award-winning works of poetry, including The Manila Hall, Urd (winner of The Brage Prize 2013) and Sickle (winner of the New Norwegian award Nynorsk Literature Prize 2017). Cally is her debut as a playwright."

SOURCES:

The Norwegian Theatre, 02.11.2017, detnorsketeatret.no, https://www.detnorsketeatret.no/framsyningar/cally/

The Hedda Award, www.heddaprisen.no, 18.06.2018, https://www.heddaprisen.no/nominerte/2018