Little Thor

Erik Pierstorff in Dagbladet wrote the following, among other things, in his review, published April 19, 1978:

"It is funny, and appropriately scary. (...) Rod puppets are used, and part of the point (the way I see it) is that one, to begin with, sees both the puppets and the puppeteers carrying them, and steering their arms - whereas the puppeteers later disappear among the backdrops, and we only see the puppets. Another point it that the production uses a 'real' Thor of sorts as a joint between our world and the mythical world. That is: Little Thor is a puppet, too, but at the same time he is a child who doesn't want to go to bed. When he does, he dreams Trymskvida and (of course!) takes part in his dream."

The role of Little Thor was played by Christine Stoesen. 

Sceneweb refers to the other puppets registered from this production. These are Thor, Freyja and Gufse and Skrotolf (the latter two are registered together). 

SOURCES:

The Norwegian Touring Theatre's archive

Mona Wiig's private archive

Playbill from the production

Review in Aftenposten, written by Svein Johs. Ottesen and published April 17, 1978.

Review in Dagbladet, written by Erik Pierstorff and published April 19, 1978

Review in Arbeiderbladet

Donated by: Mona Wiig.

Transported 21.01.2020.

The head of Little Thor was cut from Styrofoam and fortified with several layers of cotton gauze and wood glue, after which it was polished with fine sandpaper, pasted and painted with a last finish in a light colour. A steering rod in wood (a round rod) was fastened to the head and prolonged to the puppet's chest area. The hair was made from thin, twisted silk threads. These were yellow. The body consisted of a blue-striped pair of pyjamas, shirt and pants. The shirt was fastened to the shoulders, to which the arms were also fastened. The hands were cut from thick leather.

Little Thor was constructed as a traditional rod puppet. The head was fastened to a round rod, and piano string or thread was fastened to each of the puppet's hands, so that they could be moved. The round rod was prolonged to the puppet's chest area, and was used by the puppeteer, to steer the puppet in performance. The head and the body were constructed to that they could each be turned, independently of one another.

Performing with rod puppets demands practice, to be able to coordinate the head and the body with rods in each hand. As with all puppets, the puppeteer's body needs to give impulses to the puppet, so that it becomes a prolongation of the puppeteer's arm and body. Rod puppets can perform large and sliding movements, among other things.

Arbeiderbladet wrote the following, among other things, April 17, 1978:

"The performance must be just the thing for children who are learning our old Norse myths. In the play, they meet the god Thor, who is irritated because he has lost his hammer, like others lose their glasses or something. The instructor Mona Viig (SIC, correct spelling is Wiig, editorial comment), who has also made the puppets, have let them run among the audience, and this ensures nice contact with the children. The play is based on Trymskvida, with a personal twist in that a little boy, named Thor, drives with the real Thor, the one with the hammer, in a dream, experiencing the whole thing from within. Little Thor and big Thor cheat Trym, the king of the jötnars, and they are assisted by the sneaky Loki, who is relatively easy to handle in this performance."