Comedy and a little tragedy

Shakespeare may further a layer at Folkteatern

A winter's tale belong to Shakespeare's stranger plays. The first half is a tragedy in which Leontes, King of Sicily, beset by a just as sudden as unwarranted jealousy slips into his pregnant queen Hermione and drives his best friend Polixenes, king of Bohemia, on the run. Before the misunderstanding to be cleared up in time both Hermione and a little heir to the throne die. The king and queen's newborn daughter has been left outside to starve and Leontes have nothing more to do than to repent and mourn. Then do the Time the unexpected entrance and let 16 years pass, and the play turns into a comedy based in Bohemia.

The heavily cropped version of the play that Katrine Wiedemann set up in Copenhagen in the last year and which is now played at Folkteatern retain only the parts set in Italy. In other words, the tragic beginning and the happy ending.

Dennis Sandins directed överbyggs this gap by the play gets to the comedy from the first moment. The slightly absurd and abrupt plot is accentuated by Mikael Svaneviks alternately dramatic and cheerful music along with the mask and costume borrow impulses from the silent films.

Johan Holmberg Leontes domderar hollow round with bowler hat and cane. The movement pattern is the jerky paranoikerns when he attacks his wife, ends up in a fistfight with an armful of lemons or irritated hyssjar the laughing audience.

Svartsjukans the whole patetik and comedy emerges in the Holmbergs design along with the sorrow and, in all cases, initially, held back aggression.

Where Leontes is comic is Karin the Frumeries Hermione for gravity. Her stoic calmness is a nice contrast against the husband's increasing insanity. Malin Morgan's lady-in-waiting Pauline is more agitator than a mediator, with the sense of the text's subtle humor. Yngve Dahlberg, who plays both Polixenes and a chamberlain goes in place of the easy laughter.

the Decoration comprises of the brooding man's own little bed, a single armchair and a fireplace with drinkset. Leontes seems just as very isolated, both in their crazy thoughts and on stage. It greatly reduced the court will leave him to hold long monologues, which all have their own bizarre logic. It gets them through the play move by Dostoyevsky, like Raskolnikov or Goljadkin is Leontes both ridiculous and dangerous. With a light hand and effective storytelling adds Sandins set as an additional layer to Shakespeare's already disparate piece. This will be the winter's tale half-comedy, half psychological drama.

by William Shakespeare

Trans. Magnus Lindman

set Design: Charlotta Nylund

In roles: Yngve Dahlberg, Karin de Frumerie, Johan Holmberg, Malin Morgan

Scene: Folkteatern. Göteborg

running time: 1 h 40 min