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SAGA tour -Riksteatret, Norway


SAGA

SAGA, Riksteatret, Foto John Stenersen.

(Tourpremiere 27. February 2014)

By Lisa Strindberg. Fotos: John Stenersen

OSLO/NORWAY: SAGA is an relevant tragicomedy of how the national banking swindle ruined the life of an Icelandic family having invested in banking stock to create a place for tourists. A modern saga of rise and fall of freedom under the reign of banks – and – the characters are puppets!

The Norwegian Riksteatret (national touring theatre, www.riksteatret.no), offers a special treat for homo ludens this spring of 2014, through the marvelous infotainment by Wakka Wakka, winners of Drama Desk Special Award for Sophisticated Puppeteery 2013 in NY, USA where SAGA was shown last year. The NY-based group co-works in Norway with Nordland Puppet Theatre. The dialog is in English.

SAGA, foto John Stenersen

The poetical talent of Wakka Wakka sifts through the magical opening scene: the horse-masked puppeteers dancing to catching rhythms of Celtic and Nordic tradition, connecting us to open land and freedom. The brown heads, with flowing manes, create an emotional flare through their wild beauty.

We meet Gunnar, his wife Helga and their son Ole as they dig out a jacuzzi “so big you can swim in it”. The landscape surrounding the red houses by the sea, include a sheep with horns, seagulls flying above and a black- orange puffin eating a crab.

The story is a contemporary drama set during the recent economic crises in Iceland. Gunnar and his family dream of prosperity and happiness inviting tourists to enjoy Iceland at their homestead.To fulfill his dream of building  live-in where tourists can ride horses and enjoy the northern lights from the Jacuzzi, he has sold his fishing boat and his fish-lot. The Bank made him invest the money from the sale in bank stock, and then loan the money to build the tourist-place
. When the banks crack, his life falls apart. The scene where the piling bills fly around his head, whining “pay me” is a thrill – it brings associations to Hitchcocks The Birds – in their threatening dives. And Gunnar, totally breaking, ends up burning them in the wastebasket.

SAGA, Foto John Stenersen

At that moment, the script by Kirjan Waage, Gwendolyn Warnock, and the SAGA Ensemble, bring on the Norse gods to motivate the rage and uproar that more and more dominate Gunnar. His wife leaves for a job in Norway, bringing the son, Ole, with her. And as Gunnar faces the “final countdown” when his car breaks down and the bank takes his house, he calls upon magical forces of ancient tradition to reinstall justice and inspire his growing violence.

Seeing this homesteader of a modern Iceland turning into a raging “viking” figure is fascinating as a puppet show of horrific noise and red flames, and the skillful effects are overwhelming. But the story goes astray – somehow. Gunnar has become a “realistic” character of a contemporary drama, a person to identify with – especially after the scene when he has sex with Helga the night they first meet

such as premature ejaculation, anorgasmia and lack ofassociated with significantly less efficacy than direct viagra online.

. We talk of puppets having of oral sex here… When Gunnars nervous penis slowly rise to its strength so that he can penetrate Helga, my heart beats for him. He is so real– and then – when he fades into a landscape of ancient mythical Norse Gods, the connection is lost.

SAGA, The Ensemble from Nordland Puppet Theatre. Foto: John Stenersen

But it is a great show all the way. Wakka Wakka have created strong characters and a playful arena of poetry, magic, humour, wit and wonderful puppeteer performance.

 

SAGA by Wakka Wakka and Nordland Puppet Theatre. consept, regi and scenografi: Kirjan Waage and Gwendolyn Warnock. Text: Gwendolyn Warnock, Kirjan Waage and the ensemble. Producer: Rebecca Mathisen

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