Ibsen in China is presented by Ibsen International, in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing, The Norwegian Consulate General in Shanghai and The Norwegian Consulate General Guangzhou.
Ibsen International was established in 2010, and aims to develop new arenas for Norwegian art and culture. The organization seeks to establish collaboration with international institutions and to implement projects using the original works of Henrik Ibsen as a starting point.
The highlights in this year’s program:
A Doll’s House
A new interpretation of Ibsen’s A Doll House is scheduled for performance in Beijing’s Capital Theatre this autumn, from the 22nd to 24th of October.
The performance is directed and choreographed by Un-Magritt Nordseth and features a mixed Norwegian and Chinese cast. Jin Xing will play the role as Nora. Jin Xing is known as a “Treasure of the Nation” and is one of China’s most prolific dancers. She is also first in China to have undergone trans-gender surgery. The organizers see this as adding a new dimension to the character of Nora, raising issues relevant to our time, including sexual identity and relationships.
The lady from the sea
A new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s The Lady From The Sea is set to be staged on
October 5. - 6. (Hangzhou), and October 14. - 15. (Shanghai).
Director Zhan Min has turned the classical play into a colorful performance in the form of traditional Chinese Yue opera. Although written more than a hundred years ago, The Lady From The Sea touches upon issues that are just as relevant in today’s world. The main theme of the play is choice and consequence.
International Ibsen Festival for University students
Chinese Nordic Cultural Centre at Nanjing university is hosting the first International Ibsen Festival for University Students on October 22nd- 24th.
The festival aims to renew student’s interest in adapting and performing the original plays of Henrik Ibsen. University students from all over China have been invited to stage their own productions of famous Ibsen plays, and the finalists will gather in Nanjing to compete for the first prize.
Ibsen live in China / an exhibition
Introducing Jon Fosse:
Jon Fosse is a Norwegian author and dramatist. Fosses works have been translated into more than forty languages, and he is widely recognized as one of the world’s most significant contemporary playwrights. Fosse has also received a long list of prestigious awards, including the Ibsen Award (2010), the Brage prize (2005).
Fosses plays have been translated for the first time into Chinese by Lulu Zou, PhD Candidate at Shanghai Theatre Academy. The event will be celebrated during the Ibsen in China festival, with a stage production of Someone is going to come, as well as a Jon Fosse workshop and a Jon Fosse seminar.
Someone is going to come
Someone is going to come will be staged at the Shanghai Theatre on October 26th. This will will mark the introduction of Jon Fosses works to the Chinese theatre audience, as this will be the first time one of his plays is performed in China.
The play has been described as a poetic play of paranoia and sexual jealousy. The play is about a man and a woman who move to an old, run-down cabin in the middle of nowhere in order to be alone together. From the beginning, however, they grow anxious that “someone is going to come”. And sure enough, someone does come…
Full seminar program with detailed information