Vilhelm Krag – 150 years

20.-22. of August Jon Erik plays, together with Ina Maria Brekke, the performance SHRIEK OF A BIRD… in Posebyhaven in Kristiansand.

He and She meet. This is not the first time. But who are they to each other? And who are they to themselves? They are both people with baggage, gathered through life, but cope with their challenges and surroundings in very different ways. He is a realist, in his own eyes, and no longer sees the point of anything. He wished everything was different. That everything was better. And there’s a lot he doesn’t quite understand. She carries the grief inside. She dresses layer upon layer with assumed optimism, and forgets to take care of herself. To dissolve, and to fix, so she can actually feel good. The two share their views, observations and thoughts, and perhaps they’ll also find their way to the same goal, using each other.

This year it’s 150 years since Vilhelm Krag was born in Kristiansand. Krag is known as “The southern poet”and was also the one who christened the region, which was previously part of Western Norway. His poetry is also the starting point for what became the first Southern folk songs.

Based on Krag’s texts, a new theatre performance has been created with accompanying new songs. His words and thoughts are put together in a completely new way, and the dialogue quickly jumps between references to both poems and excerpts from short stories. His often simple, but razor-sharp and timeless texts speak well together, and lay the foundation for reflection through beautiful and poetic images. The performance addresses several different topics we can all recognise, and opens up for reflection on our own lives and situations. The author Vilhelm Krag was also a theatre man, and wrote several plays, was a stage director and for a period also director of the National Theatre. It is thus a format that was close to his heart, and the lyrics come home presented in this way in many ways. With his strong connection to his childhood home in the south, the part of the country that he himself gave a name to, it is clear that this is where this new performance also belongs. Last year was also a 100 years since Vilhelm Krag, together with composer Johan Halvorsen, wrote the first southern country songs. This performance comes with brand new songs, composed by Jon Erik, with lyrics based on eternally current poems by Vilhelm Krag.