The Vikings at Helgeland

At the webpage of The National Theatre the following, among other things, is written about The Vikings at Helgeland:

"Ibsenian Viking drama for a post-apocalyptic age.

Hjørdis is a conflict-seeking, uncompromised and passionate woman, shaped by a world where raw muscle power and honour rule. She feels bitter about male privilege and tries to navigate a society where her own room for development is more limited than she would like it to be. When Hjørdis discovers that she is living a lie, she reacts without mercy, showing that she is willing to fight for what she believes in.

Henrik Ibsen's early drama, ironically titled The Vikings at Helgeland, is a drama of errors, a feminist manifest and a family tragedy pointing towards the rest of his oeuvre. Hjørdis, now played by Kjersti Tveterås, is an archetype for Ibsen, a Hedda on speed, who realises that her marriage is wrong for her, and who is spoiling for revenge, with pride and passion. As in The Wild Duck the life-lie is revealed - and as in Little Eyolf Hjørdis' little boy stands in her way. It ends the way it must: Fatally.

Ibsen set The Vikings at Helgeland in a pre-Christian age, the Viking age, a society far from protected, modern rule of law. The young, up-and-coming director Eline Arbo has decided to set her version in a post-apocalyptic age, post-Christianity and post the ideas our society is built on- ethics, human rights and equal rights. Today, the trust in society and in politicians is crumbling, Arbo points out, referring to the populist protests leading to surprising political shifts in recent years. She considers her production an experiment of thought: How to survive in an extreme world - where every person must fight for himself or herself, and for his or her rights?"

In a press release from The National Theatre the following, among other things, is written about The Vikings at Helgeland:

"In September The International Ibsen Festival is arranged. The National Theatre stages three plays by Ibsen: The Master Builder at the main stage, Hedda Gabler at The Torshov Theatre and The Vikings at Helgelandat Malersalen.

- And if there is one trait that characterises these plays, it is the strong, independent- and not particularly sympathetic - female roles. This keeps being called for, in movies and theatre. So get ready for a meeting with Hjørdis, Hedda and Hilde - women who don't hesitate to serve themselves. Often at the cost of the people and the men (SIC) surrounding them, head of The National Theatre, Hanne Tømta, says.

At the occasion of the festival, The National Theatre also presents a recent play written by the humorous, tongue in cheek and existential playwright and resident director at The National Theatre, Jonas Corell Petersen, Arbeidstittel: Savnet fellesskap* (Working title: Community missing).

These productions can be enjoyed throughout the autumn - including after the end of the festival."

SOURCES:

Press release from The National Theatre via My Newsdesk 26.04.2018, www.mynewsdesk.com, 26.04.2018, http://www.mynewsdesk.com/no/nationaltheatret/pressreleases/teaterhoesten-2018-er-lansert-2489696

The National Theatre, nationaltheatret.no, 26.04.2018, https://www.nationaltheatret.no/forestillinger/harmennene-pa-helgeland/

*Not yet translated into the English. The title within parentheses is the Norwegian title's literal meaning.