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Rebecka Åhlund is a Swedish journalist and writer. One of her books was a successful autobiography called Jag som var så rolig att dricka vin med (I was so fun to drink wine with). It details her journey into alcoholism; how, while working in London, she eventually realised she had a problem and turned to AA for the help she so sorely needed.
Sylvia Rauan is a Norwegian/Swedish actor who is currently performing in a one-woman play adapted from the Åhlund book by Jani Lohikari.
I unexpectedly attended a performance of the play tonight and, while not understanding many of the words, enjoyed it. To be fair, I did study up on the book first. Wikipedia also helped put me in the picture. The play was a Riksteatern production.
When Mirinda came home from uni and having dinner with Jason, and she wanted to know how it went, I asked her: “What is my least favourite type of theatrical performance?” She answered: “A one person play?” She was, of course, correct. However, while this was a one-person play, it was only an hour and was very well performed.
Ms Rauan kept the audience’s attention as she told the story of her London life and numerous glasses of wine. She explained about her alcoholic father, who died young. And, finally, she stood up at an AA meeting and admitted her problem.
I thought she was very good, with a lot of energy and truth. I think it was an indication of my enjoyment that although I didn’t understand much of it, it managed to keep my attention from start to finish. Sadly, I didn’t get the jokes. Mind you, a small part of the audience only laughed a few times so maybe there weren’t that many.
The production was delightfully simple. Following one of Thornton Wilder‘s tenets of theatre*, Ms Rauan performed in front of a bi-fold screen which had strip lights of changeable colour running along the bottom and the middle. These lights helped establish where particular scenes in the play were being enacted.
The other person in the play was the lighting and sound person, who really needs a credit. She made the play come alive with music, voices and lighting effects. I thought her work was very effective. It’s a pity she didn’t get a credit.
Anyway, I did enjoy it. The performance was held at the Skärborgarnas Hus, where we saw the film last night. And, I’m glad to say, it was a full house.
* I can’t find the exact quote by Wilder, but I think it was in the introduction to Our Town where he wrote “Give me a few feet of space, some actors and an emotion or two, and I’ll give you a play.” I directed both Our Town and By the Skin of Our Teeth and his minimalist approach stayed with me through many other productions afterwards.
