Mrs. Elvsted, Thea Elvsted

Excerpt from review in Ånd i hanske: "For instance, he (Barthold Halle, editorial comment) lets the persons of the play, in the form of rod puppets, move around freely in a plush-like, bourgeois living room with their puppeteers. There is no visible or invisible line the puppets could use for a floor, their legs hang in the air, when they don't suddenly lean towards a piece of the furniture." (...) The puppets are grotesque caricatures of Ibsen's characters (...) Mrs. Elvsted is as made for the safety of her own handbag. She resides in this when the world becomes too problematic." Anne M. Helgesen: Hurra (literally: Hooray) (1994:32). 

The role of Mrs. Elvsted was played by Ragnhild Wang.

Sceneweb refers to the other puppets registered from the production. These are: Hedda Tesman (Gabler), Jørgen Tesman, Eilert Løvborg, Brack, and Miss Juliane Tesman.

SOURCES:

Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre). Performance program.  

Wang, Ragnhild and Vibeke Helgesen: Den magiske hånd. Dukkespill og figurteater gjennom tidene (literally: The magic hand. Puppetry throughout the ages). Pax forlag, Oslo 2000.

Ånd i hanske, issue no. 3/4, 1994.

Donated by: Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre). Knut Wiulsrød.

Transported 02.07.2020.

The head of Mrs. Elvsted (Thea Elvsted) was shaped from Styrofoam, Sundolitt isolation material or a similar material, low-weight and easy to cut. The surface was fortified with cotton gauze and wood glue. The hair was shaped using the same principle as with the other puppets in the production - as 'sausages' in varying lengths and thicknesses. The form of the face was round, with full, round cheeks, and the eyes were large and open. There were bags beneath the eyes, likely made from cotton gauze.

Mrs. Elvsted's hair was orange, and the top of the dress and parts of the skirt had the same colour. There was also some green in the dress. The curves of Mrs. Elvsted were round and soft, and her colouring was warm and sunny. At her neck was a brooch, shaped as a cluster of grapes and two other, red fruits, plus a lace collar. There was also lace attached to other parts of her dress.

The theatre puppet Mrs. Elvsted had a handle at the back of her head, with which she was steered during the performance. The puppet also had joints at her neck and her waist, so that she could move her hips, her chest, her neck, and her head. Across her shoulders, she wore a shawl of lace, but she had no arms beneath the shawl. The long skirt also hid that she didn't have legs. Her lower body, not visible, was simply a lump of cloth, to maintain width in the skirt.

The puppeteer held the puppet in front of her own body, and she was partially hidden for the audience. This is why Mrs. Elvsted is registered as a Bunraku-inspired puppet.

Excerpt from review, written by Anne Helgesen: 

"Behind these puppets, Barthold Halle lets the puppeteers say their lines with theatrical and deep sobriety. Whereas the puppets' looks and movements often say the direct opposite. The duplicity of the characters and the description of the hypocrisy in the environment is used at a maximum. The result is comical, and revealing."

(Ånd i hanske, Issue 3/4 1994: 32).