Studioteatret was a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It opened in 1945, shortly after the

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, with

Claes Gill Claes Gill (13 October 1910 - 11 June 1973) was a Norwegian writer, poet and actor. Born in Odda, but spent his childhood years in Bergen, before moving to Oslo permanently. His most famous works were the poetry book ''Fragment av et magisk liv ...

as its first theatre director. Studioteatret is regarded as one of the earliest post-war artistic expressions in Norway, and most of its members later played important roles in Norwegian theatre. Studioteatret closed 25 October 1950, due to economic difficulties, and its members were spread to various other theatres.

Background

During the

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

the theatres in Norway were subject to a nazification process by the German occupants and the Nazi collaborationist government. The Nazis established a school called "Statens teaterskole", and demanded it to be mandatory for everybody that wanted to work in a theatre. The school was largely boycotted by students. When the Nazi government took control over the theatres by arresting resistant board members and inserting supporters in leading roles, the theatres experienced a general boycott from the public. When

Henry Gleditsch Henry Cochrane Williamsen Gleditsch (9 November 1902 – 6 October 1942) was a Norwegian stage and film actor and theatre director. He was born in Kristiania. In his young days he participated in skiing for SFK Lyn. He married Synnøve Tanvi ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Trøndelag Teater Trøndelag Teater is a large theater in the city of Trondheim, in Trøndelag county, Norway. Trøndelag Teater stages large-scale dance and musical performances. History Originally built in 1816, the theater is the oldest stage in Scandinavia ...

in Trondheim, was shot during the martial law in October 1942, the actors at various theatres, such as the National Theatre, initiated a silent opposition, which took various forms.

The Stanislavski Group

A group of actors and students in Oslo started underground meetings where they secretly studied

Stanislavski's system Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing ...

, named after the Russian actor and theatre director

Constantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...

's theories of theatre. These meetings, often held in

Jens Bolling Jens Bolling (23 June 1915 – 13 December 1992) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. He was among the founders of Studioteatret, and a well-known interpreter of Norwegian fairy-tales. Early and personal life Bolling was born in Lev ...

's apartment, were potentially dangerous for the participants, as the Nazi authorities did not tolerate competition. The result of these undercover meetings was the founding of the theatre Studioteatret in 1945. Among the members of the group were the actors

, Liv Strømsted and Per Gjersøe from the National Theatre, and

Gunnar Olram Gunnar Carl Andreas Olram (19 December 1908 – 12 January 2001) was a Norwegian actor and stage instructor. Early life Olram was born in Halden on 19 December 1908. Professional career He made his stage debut at Centralteatret in 1930. ...

from

Centralteatret Centralteatret (); (full name: Oslo Nye Centralteatret) is a theatre on Akersgata, in the city centre of Oslo, Norway. Centralteatret was established by the husband-and-wife acting team of Johan Fahlstrøm and Alma Fahlstrøm, in 1897. The thea ...

. Other members of the group were Arne Thomas Olsen, Julia Back, Beth Borgen, Ingrid Bothner, Edel Eckblad,

Johannes Eckhoff Johannes Nicolai Eckhoff (26 April 1919 – 26 October 2007) was a Norwegian actor. He made his stage debut at Trøndelag Teater in 1939, and had later worked for Centralteatret, Det Nye Teater and Riksteatret. He participated in the film ''Englan ...

, Lisa Thams Jørgensen, Anne-Cath Schulerud, Sverre Hansen,

Merete Skavlan Merete Skavlan (25 July 1920 – 2 November 2018) was a Norwegian actress, theater instructor and director. She was born in Kristiania as a daughter of newspaper editor and theatre director Einar Skavlan and music educator Margrethe Bartholdy. Sh ...

and Per Sunderland. Claes Gill was a literary consultant and inspirator for the group.

Initial reception

Following the

in May 1945, the group prepared a performance held 15 June 1945, when they presented two one-acters. They called themselves "Studioteatret". The first productions were adaptions of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's '' The Long Christmas Dinner'' (), and

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''Where the Cross Is Made'' (). Several government ministers were present at the premiere, along with chief editors and theatre critics from most of the Oslo newspapers, and the reception was overwhelming.

Later repertoire

Studioteatret existed from 1945 to 1950. Its first theatre director was Claes Gill. Their production in 1946 of Wilder's play

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

, translated by Claes Gill, was a great success. Among the theatre's other productions in 1946 were adaptions of

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's ''

A Marriage Proposal ''A Marriage Proposal '' (sometimes translated as simply ''The Proposal'', ) is a one-act farce by Anton Chekhov, written in 1888–1889 and first performed in 1890. It is a fast-paced play of dialogue-based action and situational humour. A you ...

'', Chekhov's ''The Wedding'', and

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's ''The Beautiful People''. 1947 included ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of sati ...

'' and ''

The Respectful Prostitute ''The Respectful Prostitute'' () is a French play by Jean-Paul Sartre, written in 1946, which observes a white woman, a prostitute, caught up in a racially tense period of American history. The audience understands that there has been an inciden ...

''. Studioteatret performed at

Søilen Teater Søilen Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo in 1930. It was managed by Sophus Dahl until 1932. It was then a supporting stage for Chat Noir until 1934. From 1934 to 1939 the theatre was run by Henry Gleditsch, and from 1939 it was run by Aud ...

and later at the

Carl Johan Theater The Carl Johan Theater () was a theater in Oslo, Norway. It was initially located in the Christiania Tivoli amusement park in Oslo from 1893 to 1895, where it was led by Olaf Mørch Hansson. It staged performance of works such as Henrik Ibsen's G ...

, and its repertoire consisted of plays by playwrights such as

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

. Later theatre directors were Gunnar Olram and Ole Oppen. In 1950 the theatre had to close, due to economic difficulties.

Impact

Most of the members of Studioteatret later had central roles in Norwegian theatre. Claes Gill, Arne Thomas Olsen, Jens Bolling and Merete Skavlan were all later theatre directors. Others worked as stage producers and actors. The

Norwegian National Academy of Theatre The Oslo National Academy of the Arts (, ''KHiO'') is a tertiary institution in Oslo, Norway, that provides education in visual arts, design and performing arts. It is one of two public institutes of higher learning in Norway that teaches in v ...

, established in 1953 and headed by Arne Thomas Olsen the next ten years, was heavily influenced by the group's working practice. The emerging new theatre institutions, such as

Rogaland Teater Rogaland Teater is a theatre in Stavanger, Norway. Background The theatre building was built in 1883 on a parcel of '' Kannik prestegård''. It was designed by architect Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff, and initially held close to 500 seats. The buil ...

(established in 1947),

Riksteatret Riksteatret (English: National Traveling Theater) is a Norwegian touring theatre. It was established by law in 1948. Its first performance was in Kirkenes in 1949, with Sigurd Christiansen's play ''En reise i natten''. The theatre plays on about ...

(established in 1948) and

Fjernsynsteatret Fjernsynsteatret () was a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that produced plays for television broadcasting. It opened in 1960 (after about a year of experimental operation) and operated until a major reorganisation of NRK o ...

(opened in 1960), were influenced by members of the group.

References

{{Coord, 59, 54, 52, N, 10, 44, 16, E, type:landmark_region:NO_dim:930, display=title Former theatres in Norway 1945 establishments in Norway 1950 disestablishments in Norway