 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Danish dramaturg Jesper Bergmann (L) and Danish playwright Line Knutzon (R) at "Scandinavia On Stage" conference in NY. (Photo by Jonathan Slaff.) | |
Scandinavia On Stage
in NY
In the past decade there has been an unprecedented explosion
of new plays produced on numerous stages across Scandinavia. This
new wave of Nordic theater was introduced to American theater professionals
for the first time in a professional conference, "Scandinavia
on Stage, " at the newly opened Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue,
April 19-20, 2001. The New York Theatre Wire is pleased to offer in-depth
coverage of the event, featuring "insider" perspectives on this vital
movement, which has to-date been been a well-kept secret among Europeans.
Overview of the
Conference
One cannot capture the full nature of this unprecendented
explosion of new Scanadinavian theater in one or even two days, but
the participants in "Scandinavia on Stage" could not help but marvel
at the vitality of New Nordic Theater, a "well-kept secret" until now.
By Philippa Wehle.
Spotlight on Swedish
Theatre and Drama
Our inveterate traveler, Glenn Loney, uses his own overview
of Swedish theater history and reflections from his travels to Sweden
to offer a context for Americans now discovering the Nordic New Wave.
New Nordic Drama
- On its Way out of the Drawing Room?
Monna Dithmer, a theater critic from Denmark, offers a
professional's guide to the contemporary Nordic play and how it is finally
breaking with the traditions of Ibsen and Strindberg.
The Danish
Explosion
By the count of Danish dramaturg Jesper Bergmann, there
has been a tripling in the number of significant Danish playwrights
in the last 15 years. How did writing plays become the equivalent of
Denmark's new national sport? Plus: portraits of four leading dramatists
of the Danish New Wave.
Icelandic
Theatre: a Mouse that Roars
Theater in this tiny nation has an almost unimaginable
vitality. The capital, with a population of 150, 000, supports 25 to
30 professional productions per weekend. The entire country of 285,
000 has a theater attendance of 400, 000 seats per annum. The ferment
of urban versus rural values, tradition versus modernity and introversion
versus extroversion sets the creative tone. By journalist Havar Sigurjnsson.
For Comparison's
Sake: The States of American Playwriting
Unlike our Scandinavian counterparts, the American mainstream
is unaware of the writers shaping its theatrical culture from the trenches.
By Todd London, Executive Director, American New Dramatists.
| lobby | search |
home |
cue-to-cue | discounts |
welcome | film
| dance | reviews
|
| museums |
NYTW mail | recordings |
coupons | publications |
classified |