Wednesday: After a great night's sleep (at last and despite the bells) I took a long walk in the park near my hotel searching for the Little Mermaid statue but never found it; will try again tomorrow. Did chance upon a dramatic monument to those who died fighting the Nazis in WW11. Will visit the Danish Resistance Museum tomorrow or Friday.
FOOD REPORT: with all due respect to my host city, I have had it with cold Danish breakfasts. I give up. One of the hotel clerks told me about a small cafe down the street that serves hot oatmeal for 28 crowns (I would pay 100 at this point). I am definitely going there tomorrow morning! In the meantime, I had fresh fruit, a little yogurt and muesli, toast and marmelade. For lunch, a sandwich of thin slices of cheese, tomatoes and cucs (eaten between shows in Malmo). Dinner from my old friend Cafe Oscar was 2 grilled shrimp skewers with tiny tomatoes and roasted new potatoes. And a few pieces of really dark Swedish chocolate. Yum.
FESTIVAL REPORT: Took the train again to Malmo and walked to the first theatre to see "Berlin, 1961" by a German theatre company. The concept (they used a real small car on stage and it became a million different things--so inventive) was really well executed; the acting, direction and writing very strong and professional. The play itself would be a bit too controversial for most American teenage audiences; some really sexist and offensive stereotypes (they were equal opportunity satirists--no one escaped--the Russian solider, the American pop star, the wailing German mother, the farmers from the American Midwest) and again, sexual actions that would never fly in the US for minors.
Walked across town to the next theatre with a cheerful producer from Wales who talked about a theatre project she her company would do that would take place on a 3 month voyage at sea (with the young people playing the roles of the actual historical characters). The second performance that I saw today was stunning. It was a Brazilian piece called "Almost Nothing" by a company from Sao Paulo that combined what appeared to be video backdrop with actors and wonderful puppets. It was about the poverty endured by the those living in the slums and shanty towns of Brazilian cities and was done with such grace and style; almost like a series of moving tableaux interspersed with puppet manipulation. The stage was covered with what appeared to be sand and the sand was used over and over agin to represent the "nothingness" that is given to the poor. The majority of the piece was just movement (like Viewpoints compositions), music and a puppet or two but then a puppet stage appeared an a traditional Brazilian puppet show with dialogue was performed that mirrored the themes in the live piece. I spent some time with the director and actors after the show talking to them about their process and exchanging email addresses. The director was disappointed that the puppet show portion of the piece did not work in context and that the audience didn't get it. I agreed but stressed to him how meaningful the content was and how beautiful the overall effect had been. The company is called Sobrevento. I would love to connect with them and study their style--both the puppet and live forms. Note: I discovered that what appeared to be a multimedia backdrop was simply a backlit panel with photos of hundreds of feet stapled to it. A cool technique that I can use!
While waiting for the train, I chatted with a Danish professor of theatre history who told me about a company called Odin Theatre that was born out of work with Growtowski. Road the train back to Copenhagen with a delightful Russian playwright named Ksenia. We have sons the same age and it was nice to talk about our kids, our lives and our professions. She invited me visit her in Moscow and to a reading of 5 excerpts of Russian plays for teens that will be performed in English by Swedish and Danish actors tomorrow at the Russian Culture Center. Looking forward to attending. And looking forward (hoping) for another good sleep tonite!
Before we left Malmo, Ksenia told me to throw a coin in the canal --a Russian tradition that is supposed to ensure one returns to a place again. I certainly would not mid coming back.
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