Document Ibsen

In Document Ibsen by Temte Productions Henrik Ibsen and the theatre as theatre are examined.

Theatre provides us with the opportunity to regard the person Henrik Ibsen in an endless variety of ways. All his plays and characters spring out from the person Henrik Ibsen. He (Ibsen) is the man, the lover, the father, the confidante of the heroines. Ibsen also is the "virtual lover" of Anne Marie Rekdal who talks assisted by his "voices". Like Nora, Rekdal talks with the voice of another person. Nora speaks with the voice of Helmer. Anne Marie Rekdal speaks with the voice of Ibsen.

Document Ibsen takes place in an open room in which eight tables stand next to each other, making a platform or a new level. The spectators sit around the edges of the room. A dress, a man’s jacket and shoelaces are squeezed in between the tables. A man lies underneath the tables and starts pushing them. This happens slowly and precisely. Scratching sounds are heard as the tables move and the clothes slide between their edges. The man begins to pull the clothes. He initiates a relationship to the pieces of clothing and the tables. The original image of the tables as pieces of a puzzle changes into new contexts and shapes, still aided by the pieces of the puzzle (the tables).

After a while a female voice from a tape is heard. The voice belongs to Anne Marie Rekdal, one of five persons in Norway who holds a PhD in Ibsen. On the tape she has a conversation with Rune Temte, the man in the room.

The stage image in Document Ibsen reproduces, aided by the 8 tables, a theatre stage in miniature. This is a way to make clear that the subject is theatre, but also, more specifically, that theatre as an object is to be discussed.

The props (the shoes, the jacket, the dress, the tables…) are used to signalise characters and situations. They are elements from Ibsen’s works. The actor will never take use of the props to play the role of a character. To the contrary he touches and moves with a distance indicating he isn’t involved on a psychological level.

The actor is in the service of the objects. The purpose of what happens in the room and what is said on tape or projected through images will not always be connected. The audience members can decide for themselves if there is a connection between the different levels and activities. They are free to create their own associations.

Document Ibsen is a result of a three day work period in relation to what was called Prøvekluten, a collaboration project between the county of Møre og Romsdal and Volda University College the summers of 2004 and 2005.

Document Ibsen was supported by the Freedom of Expression Foundation Fritt Ord, The Fund for Performing Artists, The Audio Visual Fund, The Norwegian Actors’ Equity Association’s fund for freelancers and Volda University College.

Source: Temte Productions, http://temte.no/sider/ 08.11.2010