The Polar Bear and I
The Polar Bear and I (2004) was a theatreproduction by The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) and Baltic House Theatre. The Polar Bear and I was the world premier of Jesper Halles play Isbjørnen og jeg. The production was played at Baltic House Theatre the same year.
The director was Eirik Nilssen Brøyn.
Information
(Objekt ID 8924)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | October 28, 2004 |
| Produced by | The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater), Baltic House Theatre-Festival |
| Based on | The Polar Bear and I by Jesper Halle |
| Audience | Adults |
| Keywords | Theatre |
| Running period | October 28, 2004 |
| Website | Det Åpne Teater |
In The Polar Bear and I by Jesper Halle the audience meets Mo, who sits at home waiting for his beloved to come, turning his loneliness into duality. That’s when the Polar Bear unexpectedly comes to visit.
The Polar Bear and I was performed with The Quiet. The productions marked the end of the project Addicted only, a Norwegian-Russian playwright collaboration between The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) and Baltic House Theatre.
Addicted only played on the themes the participating playwrights chose for themselves as starting points for their texts; vices and addiction. The project lasted two years and included seminars and workshops as part of the process, in Russia and Norway.
The six participating playwrights were Sergey Radlov, Maksim Korouchkin, Ekaterina Sadur, Jesper Halle, Lisbeth Hiide and Wetle Holtan.
The Quiet by Sergey Radlov and The Polar Bear and I by Jesper Halle were selected for production in Baltic House Theatre and The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater).
The two plays were produced by Baltic House Theatre and performed as visiting plays in The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) November 6 2004 with staged readings of the rest of the plays.
Addicted only was supported by The Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs/MFA, The Freedom of Expression Foundation Fritt Ord and The Fund for Performing Artists.
Source: The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater), archive, program Addicted only
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Jesper Halle | – Playwright |
| Eirik Nilssen Brøyn | – Direction |
| Mathias Eckhoff | – Actor |
| Silje Færavaag | – Actor |
| Hauk Heyerdahl | – Actor |
| Nicholas Hope | – Actor |
| October 30, 2004 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Show |
| October 29, 2004 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Show |
| October 28, 2004 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Worldwide premiere |
| 2004 – Big stage | Show |
Andreas Wiese, date unknown, Dagbladet [Oslo]:
"Halle’s text mixes an intentionally naive, ordinary surface with the deeper undertones of the fable: The dangerous bear, whether it is within us or comes to us. It is an exciting setup, but not completely worked through, there are some repetitions, some clumsy exposition. But the energy of the acting and the secrecy of the text fascinate, without being clear enough to be successful."
IdaLou Larsen, date and publisher unknown:
"The Polar Bear and I is a text with opportunities that could have been taken better advantage of. It seems as if director Eirik Nilssen Brøyn has not quite decided on how to use the text. (...) But their running expresses nothing of the tension and the emotion in the situation, when one reads the text – that, the exchange of lines between Mo and Ulrik is a good example of."