The Norwegian Ibsen Company enters Fjæreheia. Fjæreheia is a former quarry in Norway where a characteristic red granite was mined. It has an amphitheatre with 900 seats. The quarry is a unique outdoors arena, just outside of Grimstad, the town where Henrik Ibsen lived and worked in his youth and wrote his first play.
With an intensely visual Peer Gynt that begins after dark, Ibsen’s permanent mark will be carved into the rock wall.
Inspired by the critically acclaimed drawings by Geir Moen, Peer Gynt returns to Fjæreheia. One of the biggest audience successes in Fjæreheia was Reidar Sørensen’s interpretation of Peer Gynt. Now it is his son, Kim Sørensen, who’s responsible for an intense and powerful version of Ibsen’s immortal classic.
Actor and director Sørensen believes Peer Gynt speaks to us all, in all stages of our lives, and pulls on our heart strings time and time again.
When you manage to avoid responsibility throughout your entire life, old age turns into an encounter with a person we might not recognise.
Kim Sørensen acted in Peer Gynt when it was staged in Fjæreheia in 1998. Speaking with Sørensen, he says:
“This is a journey into a human mind. Everyone says Peer is lying, but is he really? Who is Peer? Who am I? A person who isn’t acknowledged may have a tendency to twist the truth, but is that a lie? Can the lies be truths? A person who feels ignored is a person on the edge! Is Peer being pushed to the brink, or does he want this? Can reality be somewhere between truth and lies?”
The Norwegian Ibsen Company was founded by Kåre Conradi. The company’s goal is to make Ibsen more accessible to the Norwegian people, but also to bring Ibsen to the rest of the world. And to build a bridge between Norwegian and foreign forces. Ibsen is a strong brand for Norway – and there’s great potential in going internationally. This is something the company cares a great deal about.
Inspired by The Royal Shakespeare Company and The Globe in London, the company is working to offer something that centers around Ibsen that’s also aimed at children and youth. The Norwegian Ibsen Company has its second production in London in 2022, and working on exciting projects involving everything from AR (Augmented Reality), cartoons, children’s books and documentaries about Ibsen’s life – but Fjæreheia has quickly become the project that’s closest to their hearts.
The company not only wants to create good Ibsen productions in this unique arena, but they also want to help put Grimstad and the surrounding area on the map as a completely unique place in the world. The place where the young Ibsen became the author Henrik Ibsen. Grimstad is Norway’s Stratford Upon Avon and The Norwegian Ibsen Company wants to create enthusiasm in all arenas and areas. With Peer Gynt, they hope the audiences will finds their way to Fjæreheia, and that Ibsen finds a permanent home.
Wednesday 20 to Sunday 24 July 2022