Pressmeddelande -
The Bible as a play
The Gothenburg City Theatre (Sweden) is putting the whole Bible on stage. Adam and Eve, the Archangels, Moses, Noah’s Ark, Jesus. The story holds both the Old and New Testaments.
The play is about our relationship to God and reflects religious tradition as well as present times. We take part in the Creation, we ride on Noah’s Ark and we meet the chosen people as refugees on their way to the Land of Canaan. They are urged on by a loving but capricious and dictatorial God. The human beings, their questions and doubts, are the heart of this story. We follow them throughout thousands of years until we arrive at Jesus and the image of God that parts the fate and daily life of man.
Niklas Rådström is one of Sweden’s foremost writers and recipient of a number of prestigious literary awards. He has previously dramatized another major work for The Gothenburg City Theatre; Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Niklas Rådström has created his own version of the Bible.
-It is, naturally, a totally impossible challenge to put the Bible on stage, but that’s exactly what makes it so irresistibly tempting. The Bible has a unique place in our collective consciousness. How does one relate to a holy book? How does one portray the Bible so that it gives meaning to both believers and non-believers? These are issues that have intrigued me, says author Niklas Rådström.
Stefan Metz is the director of the play. He was born in Switzerland, lives in Madrid and works all over Europe. This will be his fifth production for The Gothenburg City Theatre.
-Sure, I wondered how anyone could be so arrogant as to stage the Bible. But at the same time, I look at it this way; In the theatre we're part of the entertainment industry. We’re setting up a play. We’re not invading a country in the name of God, says director Stefan Metz.
Stefan Metz, also an actor, was previously one of the principal artistic collaborators of Théâtre de Complicité in London. As a director, he has worked throughout Europe, including Switzerland, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Iceland and Sweden.
The Bible is opening February 17th on the main stage.
For more information and press accreditations please contact:
Frida Hallberg
Press Officer
+46 (0)31-7087006
frida.hallberg@stadsteatern.goteborg.se
Ulrika Sonn
Marketing Director
+46 (0)31-7087011
ulrika.sonn@stadsteatern.goteborg.se
