PS! Content mostly in Norwegian
About Juni Dahr
In 1980/81 Juni was awarded a State scholarship to Poland to study at Grotowski's Laboratory Theater. In 1986 she studied film and theater at New York University and at the Actors Studio in New York with Shelly Winters. In 1989 she received a Fullbright fellowship centered on the project "Female Legends" and formed her own company, Visions, in order to explore the lives of legendary female characters and create independent theater and film productions.
Joan of Arc – Vision through Fire opened in 1988 in Los Angeles. The performance was highly acclaimed and has toured the USA, Europe, Russia, the Nordic countries and israel; in 1992 the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation produced a television version. Joan of Arc is now performed on request in mediaeval locations.
Ibsen Women – Put an Eagle in a Cage opened in New York and Los Angeles in 1990 and has sincetoured the USA, Europe, India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, South America, Russia, China and all the Nordic countries.
In 1991 Juni received the Los Angeles Drama Critics' Award for her performance in Ibsen Women, and in 1993 she won the San Francisco Critics' Award for her interpretation of Ellida Wangel in Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea.
Together with her sister, film director Eva Dahr, she has made two short films, Dolce Vita and Troll.
In 1994 Juni was commissioned to create an adaptation of Sigrid Undset's mediaeval novel Kristin Lavransdatter for the Winter Olympics in Norway. Kristin Lavransdatter has toured in Norway and the USA and also been performed in Rome; in 1995 it was adapted for video.
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
Visjoner Teater’s production of ”A Doll’s House” is the first part of our Ibsen trilogy ”IBSEN TETT PÅ” -“Ibsen in close ups” where Henrik Ibsen´s drama is moved out of the traditional theatre space into realistic settings.
”A Doll’s House” is performed in an authentic apartment, at the home of Nora and Torvald Helmer.
Both actors and public are challenged to a new meeting with Henrik Ibsen’s familiar text as it is taken off the stage and placed in new surroundings. How do we now perceive ‘A Doll’s House’, finding ourselves at home with the Helmers, eye-witnesses to the disintegration of their marriage and dreams of love?
“A Doll´s House at Wesselsgate 15“ in Oslo opened May 22th. 2006, and has had 114 sold out performances. King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway arranged to have their own performance. The Doll´s House production was invited to Stockholm International Theater Festival 2008 and got rave critics. In the spring 2009 the performance is invited to Ibsen Festval in Krakow, to Førde and Ski.
Text adaptation : Juni Dahr and Tonje Gotscalksen
Nora Helmer: Juni Dahr
Torvald Helmer: Lars Øyno
Doctor Rank: Terje Strømdahl
Mrs. Kristine Linde: Kristin Kajander
Nils Krogstad: Robert Skjærstad
Director: Tonje Gotschalksen
Producer: Marianne Roland
A Dolls House is performed in original language.
Supported by: Arts Council Norway, EEA grants Cultural Exchange Fund Norway-Poland, OBOS and the Norwegian Folkemuseum.
Press Clippings:
"Hyper-realistic and effective Doll’s House."
Klassekampen
"A Doll’s House peels away our illusions."
Dagens Nyheter
"Intense close ups when Nora breaks away."
Svenska Dagbladet
"Ibsen played with subtleness and nerve."
VG
"Modern in playing style and form, Juni Dahr’s Nora is an honest, deeply moving interpretation of the role."
Aftenposten
"Seldom has the famous final confrontation between Torvald and Nora seemed more real."
Dagbladet
Ibsen Women – put an eagle in a cage
Created and performed by Juni Dahr
Music created and performed by Chris Poole
Costumes: Inger Derlick/Juni Dahr
Lighting design: Aimee Malthe Harnes, Marianne Thallaug Wedset and Frank Tangen
Directing advice: Aimee Malthe Harnes/Marketa Kimbrell
Photo: Marianne Thallaug Wedset
IBSEN WOMEN was conceived in the United States while I was touring with Joan of Arc. Being a Norwegian actress, I was often asked aboout Ibsen's dramas. This inspired me to present the Norwegian master playwright through some of his female characters.
Through improvisations based on fragments of Ibsen's text, "Ibsen Women" slowly evolved in an empty space with a minimum of props and decoration.
"Ibsen Women" was first presented at the International Ibsen symposium held at Yale University in April 1989.
Put an eagle in a cage and it will bite the bars wether they are of iron or gold", says Hjørdis in The Vikings of Helgeland.
Playing Hjørdis, under thr direction of John Barton from the Royal Shakespear Company, opened my mind to Ibsen's challenging questions to freedom and life itself. Henrik Ibsen reveals a deep understandiing of women – but where did he get his knowledge from? Through his characters he makes us experience our own lives. Henrik Ibsen is the genius that tempts us to explore his women looking for the essence, the source, the spirit that makes these female characters so facinating even today.
”Hedda – Second part of a triology IBSEN TETT PÅ ”
Work in progress, first reading in Krakow.
Visjoner Theatre’s trilogy ”IBSEN TETT PÅ” -“Ibsen in close ups”
Henrik Ibsen´s drama is moved out of the traditional theatre space into realistic settings. This enables us both audience and actors, to experience and rediscover his texts and the conflicts in a naked, direct and unfiltered way.
The structural action and the fascinating characters makes Hedda Gabler the world’s best criminal story, and Ibsen our contemporary.
We invite the audience to witness and share modern Ibsen and real people. In Krakow in April 2009, we will present a rehearsed reading of parts of “Hedda in close ups”, which will be an open rehearsal or a try out of selected scenes with an audience present in the space.
We are in an early stage of the Hedda production and Visjoner Theater Company would like to introduce our Hedda concept and the thoughts behind our Ibsen Trilogy. We would also like to open up for a talk with the audience after the session.
Presentation and open rehearsal: 3 scenes of “Hedda in close ups Krakow 09”
Text adaptation : Juni Dahr and Tonje Gotscalksen
Direction: Tonje Gotscalksen
Producer: Marianne Roland
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes.
Supported by: Arts Council Norway, EEA grants Cultural Exchange Fund Norway-Poland
Markens Grøde
Gard B. Eidsvold and Juni Dahr
Adaption and regi - Yngve Sundvor
Music - Lars Horntveth and Tore Brunborg
Producer - Marianne Roland
Lighting: Frank Tangen
Joan of Arc - Vision through fire
By and with Juni Dahr.
Music: Chris Poole.
Adaptation: Juni Dahr/Morten Tomte.
Lighting: Marianne Thallaug Wedset, Aimée Malte Harnes and Frank Tangen
Hello Hauge
The artists Juni Dahr, Tore Brunborg and Thomas Strønen have made a lyrical and musical performance "Hello Hauge", based on the Olav H. Hauge’s poems.
The performance was originally commissioned for a poetry festival in Norway in 2008, where it received great reviews - one newspaper characterized it as "gourmet food for the soul".
“Hello Hauge” to China:
“Hello Hauge” will be performed in Peking University on March 1st and Shanghai Fudan University on March 3rd.The Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge (1908 – 1994) was inspired by Chinese poetry during his entire life. His work has been translated by Norwegian professor Harald Bøckman and Chinese contemporary poet Xi Chuan, and will be published by the Writers Publishing House in Feb. 2009.
Olav H. Hauge lived a reserved life as fruit farmer in western Norway. His poems revolve around nature and everyday life, they have been translated into many languages and continue to have a large influence.
Hauge's first poems were all in a traditional form. He later wrote modernist poetry and in particular concrete poetry. Hauge was inspired by the simplicity of Chinese poetry, and it is reflected in several of the poems. The dialogues in Hauge’s poems stretch widely within the literary field. When he conversed intertextually with other poets, it could just as well be pre-romantic, classic European, classic Chinese or Norse poetry as post-romantic European modernists.
Mr. Svein O. Sæther (Norwegian Ambassador to China): ”I’m very glad that we have the opportunity to bring Norwegian poet Olav H. Hauge back to Chinese readers. He was deeply influenced by Chinese culture during his entire life. I hope it can further trigger more cultural exchange between Norway and China.”
Writers Publishing House: ”Hauge’s poems are simple, generous, swift and direct to the core of the subject and poetry, its style has the magic distant response to ancient Chinese poetry. The publishing of his works is a critical event of Sino-Norwegian contemporary poetry and cultural exchange, which will obsess the Chinese readers.
Supported by: The Norwegian Embassy, The Norwegian Consulate General in Shanghai, Writers Publishing House, Hauge/Tveit08，Visions Theatre Company, Mawood Theatre, Time Arts, Peking University Concert Hall, Shanghai Fudan University.
About the artists:
Juni Dahr
Graduated from The Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. Juni has toured and visited many places of the world with her own company “Visions” and won many awards. She searches for a close and direct acting style in her performances, often in collaboration with musicians. Her scenes have often been set at untraditional arenas. She is known for ”Jeanne d`Arc”, ”Ibsen’s women”, ”Growth of the Soil” and “A Doll’s House at 15 Wessels St.”. She also works on projects with different musicians under the headline TeaterBand.
Tore Brunborg
Tenor and soprano saxophonist, organizer and composer and has become one of the most popular saxophonists in Norway. With his band ”Masqualero” he toured both Europe and USA, created great music at several festivals, and took home three statuettes at the main Norwegian annual music award “Spelemannsprisen”. He has played with Jon Balke, Pat Metheny and Arild Andersen. He also plays with Tore Brunborg Quartet and Geir Lysne’s Listening Ensemble.
Thomas Strønen
Has developed a distinctive world of sound with his sophisticated use of drums, percussion and electronics. As one of Norway’s most innovative drummers, he has participated in more than 40 publications with bands like Parish (ECM, with Bobo Stenson and more), Humcrush (with Staale Storloekken) and Food (with Iain Ballamy). His solo percussion record Pohlitz is released by Rune Grammofon. He has been mentioned as a link between contemporary music and electronica. At the moment he is working on a unique concept, where percussion and electronics meets string quartet of Stroenen’s own compositions, with the British string quartet McFalls Chamber.
Marianne Roland
Theater producer for Visions Theatre Company with productions ”Growth of the Soil”, ”A Doll’s House” and ”Hello Hauge”. Graduated from the University of Bergen with a master degree in drama. Worked as drama consultant in Baerum Municipality. She has worked at Bergen International Theatre Festival.
Kristin Lavransdatter
More info later
Kassandra
Ultimafestivalen 2001, nynorsk premiere:
Oversettelse Edvard Hoem.
Orkesterdrama for skuespiller og orkester.
Komponist: Olav Anton Thommessen.
Dramatisering: Juni Dahr, Den Norske Opera.
More info later
More info later