This weekend, theater enthusiasts across Shanghai were provided with the opportunity to enjoy one of Fosse’s plays for the second year in a row. The performance marked the first time ever a Norwegian production of playwright Jon Fosse has been performed in Shanghai.While last year’s performance of Someone is going to come was held in Chinese, the production of the Name was in New Norwegian, performed by all Norwegian actors from the Norwegian Theatre, based in Oslo.
Full house
The first performance Friday evening played for a practically full house. The connection between the audience and the actors was felt through both laughter and gasps, as the actors on stage caught the audience by surprise in sudden displays of emotion and even an act of rapping. Among the group of Norwegian actors, none had ever visited China before. After the performance they expressed delight over being able to perform the play in front of a Chinese audience.
- It is such an experience to be on stage in China for the first time, said director and actor Øyvind Osmo Eriksen.
Popular in China
Although New Norwegian is language to which most of the Chinese audience is not familiar, the Chinese translation by Lulu Zou displayed as subtitles on stage helped making the play bilingual. The Chinese translation of the Name will also be launched as a book in the near future; and there are even existing plans to create a Chinese production of the play.
The immense popularity of playwrights like Jon Fosse and Henrik Ibsen in China would not be possible without the continuous promotion of Norwegian culture by Ibsen International. The organization also served as the key players behind this weekend’s performances.