Ego Actus & Scandinavian American Theater Company premiere double bills of new plays from Norway.
November 9 - December 1 at Theater For The New City
Ego Actus and Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC) will present the US Premiere of NORWAY PLAYS: DRAMA BEYOND IBSEN. The evening features two 75-minute one act plays by contemporary Norwegian playwrights, both of whom have won the prestigious Ibsen Award: THE RETURNING by Fredrik Brattberg (directed by Henning Hegland) and MORE by Maria Tryti Vennerød (directed by Joan Kane). Previews of this limited Off-Broadway engagement begin November 9 at Theater For The New City with opening is slated for November 13.
THE RETURNING is a dark comedy that takes the audience on a hilarious and unpredictable ride. Imagine the last person you'd ever expect to see... A mother and a father grieve the tragic and unexpected loss of their only son. The parents are moved by the support of the community and the people that have turned up to share their loss. After the funeral the parents struggle to build a new life together, until one day there’s a knock on the front door.
In MORE, two young women are playing and one of them gets killed. Could it have been a lesbian act of passion or an accident between friends? Detectives grill the survivor, accusing her of murder. Reporters circle the story looking for sensationalism. Are news media turning events into television dramas before the infamy of the story fades away? More is a play that explores society’s insatiable search for quick answers and someone to punish, often overshadowing the truth.
NORWAY PLAYS: DRAMA BEYOND IBSEN stars Ingrid Kullberg-Bendz, Andrew Langton, Kristoffer Tonning, Christina Toth, Skyler Volpe, Chevy Kaeo Martinez, Erik Schjerven , Alexandra Cohen Spiegler, and Ioan Ardelean.. The production team includes Starlet Jacobs (set), Mira Veikley (costumes), Bruce A! Kraemer (lighting), Ian Wehrle (sound designer & composer), Anette Norgard (composer), Shannon Stowe (choreographer), Drew O’Kane (production manager), Colleen Lacy & Lauren Arneson (stage managers), and Bruce A! Kraemer & Albert Bendix (producers).
Frederik Brattberg (b.1978) is Norwegian playwright and composer. Since his debut as a playwright in 2008, his plays have been produced at the most prestigious theatres in Norway. The Returning has been translated into six languages and has been produced in Denmark, France and Indonesia. He is currently a writer in residence at Dramatikkens Hus (The Playwrighters House) in Oslo. In 2012 Brattberg won the prestigious Ibsen Award for The Returning.
Maria Tryti Vennerød (b. 1978) is one of the most acknowledged playwrights in Norway today. She made her debut with the play More at the Norwegian Drama Festival in 2002. Since then, her plays have been frequently staged at major theatres in Norway. In 2011 she received a commission and Vedkjenning was produced by the F.I.N.D. festival at Schabühne in Berlin. Her plays are translated into ten languages. She has received several awards, including the Ibsen Award and the first prize in the Swedish/Norwegian drama competition on the centennial for the end of the Swedish-Norwegian Union in 2005. In 2012 she was nominated for the Hedda Award in the category Extraordinary Artistic Work, for her combined blog and theater project Ikke Direkte Råka.
Henning Hegland (director of The Returning) has been working as an artist, performer, and director since 1997 in New York and Europe. Henning’s directorial work range from re-imagining classics to collaborating with playwrights on new work, from devised theatre to opera. He is a founder and co-artistic director of SATC. His recent New York directing credits include A Picture of Dorian Gray at the Kirk Theatre at Theater Row; I Am My Own Moon by Zhu Yi at 3LD; Pinocchio’s Ashes by Jokum Rohde at Theatre for the New City; and Miss (frøken) Julie at Scandinavia House. He directs for the NYU playwright program and upcoming for the Atlantic acting program. Henning is a member of the Lincoln Centerr Directors Lab and the Stage Directors and Choreographer’s Guild. www.henninghegland.com
Joan Kane (director of More) is the founding Artistic Director of Ego Actus and most recently directed Safe at 59e59 and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 2011 Joan was named one of the People of the Year in indie theatre by nytheatre.com. Joan’s work has been seen at Lark Play Development Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Samuel French Short Play Festival, the Planet Connections Festivity, the Midtown International Festival, Dramatists Guild, Players Club, Actors Studio, and SATC. Joan has an MFA in Directing from The New School, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild, League of Professional Theatre Women and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
Ego Actus was founded by Joan Kane and Bruce A! Kraemer in 2009. Past productions include Safe at the Bleecker St Theater in 2012 and then remounted in 2013 at 59e59 theaters and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The company has also presented Play Nice! off-Broadway at the 59e59 theaters, Hecuba at Theater for the New City and Aliens with Extraordinary Skills at Theater 54. Ego Actus is Latin for “My Way.” For more info visit www.egoactus.com
Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC) is a collective of theater artists 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 US premieres of Gorilla by by Rhea Leman, Pinocchio's Ashes by Jokum Rohde (Denmark), The Fundamentalist by Juha Jokela (Finland) and Home Sweet Home by Andreas Garfield (Denmark). For more info visit www.satcnyc.org.
NORWAY PLAYS: DRAMA BEYOND IBSEN is made possible in part with public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
NORWAY PLAYS: DRAMA BEYOND IBSEN runs November 9 - December 1. Performances are Tuesday - Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 2pm & 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm. (Note: no shows 11/9 at 2pm or on Thanksgiving 11/28.) Running time is 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission. Theater for the New City is located at 155 First Avenue at 10th Street. Tickets are $30, available at 800-838-3006 or www.norwayplays.brownpapertickets.com.