Music lab volume 2: An enemy of the people
How much can be said – through the sound of a piano? Musikklab, at Torshovteatret, wants to bring the silent film back to life.
Directed by Petter Næss
One man stands against the rest of society. What happens if this man is stuck dumb? This is what Musikklab wants to investigate. They transform the idealist Doctor Stockmann into a struggeling hero from the days of silent films.
Musikklab is the project of the group that is currently in residence in the actor-run stage at Torshov. They want to investigate how much one can really say – when a piano is the only sound.
All the peculiarities of silent films are tested carefully by directior Petter Næss. On a black-and-white stage, live music, action and emotion are emphasizes. The two brothers, Tomas and Peter Stockmann, are fighting for their own version of the truth – with nothing but gestures and facial expressions, and the occasional text poster. Their struggle for the people's favor is also a fight about music. The music drives the action and the mood forward, but it also silences the truth.
An Enemy of the People at Torshov is a display of the art of acting – and reveals the humorous aspects of the play, somthing that was important to Ibsen himself. But the human ability to turn our coats is only hilarious. How do we relate to the whistle-blower? the Torshov group asks. Is he only a hero when the truth is not too costly? In this way, Musikklab touches on the political issues of our contemporary society.