Crooners

When I think of my dad, I always picture him singing soft songs into my ear before I fall asleep. Soft and quiet.

When I dream of my dad, he did that. Many times.

In the Crooners project, NIE has embarked on an exploration of the relationship between fathers and sons. Through conversations and interviews, they have delved into this material via Homer and Ibsen to investigate relationships, conversations, and silence. The ski trips, the ski poles, the beer bottles, and the cement. Tattoos, comfort, and defiance!

Just start the chainsaw, and everything else will fall into place! Or will it?

I dreamed of having a son, but it didn’t turn out quite as I had imagined.

Performers: Nils Oortwijn, Helder Deploige, and Václav Kalivoda
Director: Kjell Moberg
Scenographer: Katja Ebbel
Lighting Design: Christian Paulsen
Producer: Iva Moberg
Photography: Christian Paulsen and Lars Opstad

The performance was produced with funding from Scenekunstbruket, the Norwegian Arts Council, and Asker Municipality.

Also supported by the State Fund of Culture Czech Republic and the EU through the Czech Recovery Plan.

“It’s about the relationship between fathers and sons, told in a way that’s typical for NIE: with an emphasis on storytelling as a form, with humor and a sideways glance that makes it possible to address even difficult themes, with personal and character-driven acting, and not least with a strong element of live music. The music is truly exceptional, and the performance rightly carries it in the title — a title referencing the distinguished, elegant American singers of the 1920s. This family archaeology unfolds in a square sandbox where sons, fathers, and grandfathers meet — and it truly invites a cross-generational family audience.”

— Tomáš Jarkovský, member of the dramaturgical council for the Regiony Festival, Czech Republic.