At last the Statsteatret are coming with the brothers Kjerstad from Tjeldsund to the Arctic Arts Festival! Statsteatret has enjoyed fantastic write-ups for this ambitious project, which will cover the entire history of Norway across ten performances.
The mighty theatre boss Sven Elvedal is bankrupt. The theatre is closing and friends and colleagues will be thrown out into bleak unemployment. The frosty hand of 1930´s penury tightens its grip on all and sundry.
But wait! In from the wings comes the buxom Hilda Hendriksen. With Hilda comes money, and strong guidance. She has written a tribute to the new political star of the firmament, a man by the name of Quisling.
Might the theatre be interested in creating a performance around this tribute?
After a good deal of toing and froing Elvedal says yes. And from that day on all hell breaks loose.
Neither life nor the theatre will ever be the same again. The journey towards the premiere is fraught with fear, judgement, intrigues and a brutal power struggle.
It´s a portrait of the road to Fascism in all it´s brutality, yet utterly compelling!
”1930 – THE DICTATOR” is the seventh production in this series dedicated to laying bear the truth behind Norway´s history. Dramaturgist Morten Kjerstad works behind the scenes whilst his younger brother Per takes the stage. Both are originally from Tjeldsund. The Kjerstad brothers have brought these highly accessible performances home to Kjerstad on the island of Tjeldøya during recent summers.
The idea behind Statsteatret was to gather together actors with a broad theatre, directing, and film background who share a common understanding of what it is like to create something unique.
Statsteatret is a travelling free theatre established in 2010 by Gard Eidsvold and Yngve Sundvor which has set out to present Norway´s history from 1066 up to the present day. Former productions include ”1066 - The battle of Stamford Bridge”, ”1349 – The Plague”, ”1537 – The Danish Yoke”, ”1814 – A Western from the Tundra” and ”1880 – America”.
Per Kjerstad graduated from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts 2007. Since then he has been connected with the Hålogaland Theatre, Rogaland Theatre, Riksteatret and Det Norske Teatret. Kjerstad has participated in numerous TV series and films, amongst others, Eye Witnesses, The Step-brother and Varg Veum – Fallen Angels. Kjerstad is employed at Statsteatret as one of five initiators.
Morten Kjerstad is Statsteatret´s dramaturgist. He is formerly connected with the Hålogaland Theatre as dramaturgist, where, amongst other things, he translated and produced the performance ”Plan A”. He has also worked for Rogaland Theatre, The National Theatre, Sogn og Fjordane Theatre, and Riksteatret. As a freelancer Kjerstad has produced various musicals such as ”A cup of coffee and a book of hymns" and "St. John´s Passion". Kjerstad is also participating at the Arctic Arts Festival this year in the performance ”Every beautiful thing", where he shares the direction with Ketil Høegh.