Scandinavian American Theater Company premieres award winning Danish drama about novelest Isak Dinesen.
September 2 - 24 at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre
Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC) will present the US Premiere of THE BARONESS - ISAK DINESEN'S FINAL AFFAIR, by Danish playwright Thor Bjørn Krebs. Directed by Norwegian Director and SATC Co-founder Henning Hegland, previews begin September 2 at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row. Press opening of this limited Off-Broadway engagement is slated for September 7.
THE BARONESS - ISAK DINESEN'S FINAL AFFAIR is the true story of Karen Blixen, best known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, who brought us such epic tales as Out of Africa and Babette's Feast. At the pinnacle of her fame in 1948, the 62 year-old Blixen was introduced to newly renowned 29-year-old Danish poet Thorkild Bjørnvig by his publisher’s wife. The Baroness Blixen takes him under her wing and the two share a powerful, dangerous and intimate friendship. What follows is a tale of passion, courage, art, love and lust between a young ambitious poet, a grand dame of literature, and the charming young wife of their patron.
Full of tension and poetry, THE BARONESS - ISAK DINESEN'S FINAL AFFAIR is inspired by anecdotes, letters and books by and about both Blixen and Bjørnvig. It premiered to rave reviews at the Folketeatret in Copenhagen in 2011 and was a Reumert Award nominee for Play of the Year in 2012 (the Danish equivalent of the Tony Award).
Casting will be announced shortly. The production team includes Akiko Nishijima Rotch (set), Miriam Crowe (lighting), Stine Martinsen (costumes), Amy Altadonna (sound), Aleksi Ranta (composer), and Krystle Henninger (stage manager).
Thor Bjørn Krebs made his debut as a writer and director at Theater GROB in Copenhagen with The Art of Maintaining a Father in 2000. During the last 17 years he has written for many of the theaters in Denmark. In 2003, he wrote About Tommy, the first Danish play to focus on the experiences of Danish soldiers serving in the UN peacekeeping forces. It toured throughout Denmark, played at The Theater Schaubühne in Berlin and was at the acclaimed Red Stitch Actors Theatre, Melbourne. The Baroness - Isak Dinesens’ Final Affair is his 12th play. He is a 3-time Best Playwright nominee for the Reumert Award.
Henning Hegland is a founding member and co-Artistic Director of SATC and the president of SATC’s Board of Directors. He has worked as a director and performer in the UK and across the US since 1997. His directing work ranges from devising new performances, to opera, to re-contextualizing classic masterpieces. He is a recipient of the Wallenberg Award, Kurt Weill Grant, Schubert Grant and has an M.A. in Devised Theatre from Dartington College of Arts and an M.F.A. in Directing from Columbia University.
Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC) is a non-profit theater company founded in 2009 to provide a Scandinavian perspective through the new generation of Scandinavian playwrights and theater artists. SATC presents contemporary plays and inventive takes on the classics from the Nordic region, which includes Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland. Past productions include the World Premieres of Bastards of Strindberg and Then Silence by Arne Lygre and the US premieres of Gorilla by Rhea Leman, Pinocchio's Ashes by Jokum Rohde, The Fundamentalist by Juha Jokela, Home Sweet Home by Andreas Garfield and The Returning by Fredrik Brattberg. For more info visit www.satcnyc.org.
The production is sponsored by Danish Arts Foundation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Consulate General of Denmark in New York, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, and A.R.T./New York Creative Space. It is presented in collaboration with Folketeatret & The Karen Blixen Museum in Denmark.
THE BARONESS - ISAK DINESEN'S FINAL AFFAIR runs September 2 - 24 on the following schedule: Wed., Thurs. & Fri. at 8pm; Sat. at 2pm & 8pm; and Sun at 3pm with an additional performance Tuesday, Sept. 5th at 7pm. Running time is 90 minutes, with no intermission. The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row is located at 410 West 42nd Street at 9th Avenue in Manhattan. Tickets are $45 available at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com and www.theatrerow.org.