The Theatre Machine

A theatrical performance by Staffan Valdemar Holm with texts by Aeschylus, Euripides, Shakespeare, Molière, Strindberg, Norén and others.

When theatre is at its best, it acts as a wonderful illusion machine. It originated 2500 years ago in Greece and has since evolved through artists such as Shakespeare, Molière, Norén and Strindberg. But what is theatre really capable of? And where is the art of theatre going?

You get a qualified bid for this when Karen-Lise Mynster, Stina Ekblad, Tina Gylling Mortensen, Nicolas Bro, Jens Albinus and Olaf Johannessen go on stage and capture the essence of theatre art. The performance becomes a play with the actors' ability to create magic in a collage of dramatic, poetic and humorous theatre texts from before and now. Familiar characters such as Klytaimnestra, Hamlet, Prospero, Macbeth, Scapin, Miss Julie, the butler James and Miss Sophie take turns taking the stage, trying to make us cry and laugh, clap and maybe boo.

Director Staffan Valdemar Holm and set designer Bente Lykke Møller end their long careers and professional partnership with Teatermaskin på Store Scene i Skuespilhuset. And here at the finish line, it is their fondest hope to finally understand that question about actors that even Ingmar Bergman never got an answer to: How do they do?

In The Theatre Machine, the artist duo cuts to the core of the theatre space, creating a near-naked space where it is up to the actors with the text to create the illusion for the audience.

Recommended from 14 years