[ Theatralia 22 / 2019 / 1 (115—118) ] https://doi.org/10.5817/TY2019-1-11 Bergman’s Theatre Is The Serious Game
David Drozd
Egil Törnqvist. The Serious Game: Ingmar Bergman as Stage Director. Amsterdam University Press, 2015. 276 pp.
The monograph The Serious Game: Ingmar A Life in Theatre co-authored by Lise-Lone Bergman as Stage Director is the last pub- and Frederick J. Marker’s (1992) or more lished book by Egil Törnqvist (1932–2015), than 300-page survey ‘Ingmar Bergman in
theater and film scholar, specializing on the the Theatre’ in Ingmar Bergman: A Reference ] [ reviews playwright August Strindberg and the the- Guide by Birgitta Steene (2015). Following atre- and filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. He these essential contributions, Törnqvist in- dedicated many papers and several books tends to introduce only chosen productions, to both of them (e.g., Strindberg’s Miss Julie: paying attention to details, subtle drama- A Play and its Transpositions, 1988; Between turgical changes, significant moments of Stage and Screen: Ingmar Bergman Directs, actor’s performance, creating rather ana- 1995; Strindberg’s The Ghost Sonata: From lytical, in-depth book complementing these Text to Performance, 2000; Strindberg on previous extensive publications. Drama and Theatre, 2007). An actual book The structure of the book corresponds on Bergman, finished shortly before his with this choice: after a short preface, death, could be seen as his final oeuvre. there is only one chapter entitled ‘B & The book is based on his previous papers Co.’ giving very brief but condensed and essays; it consists of series of analytical contextualization of Bergman’s work in chapters on particular performances, with theatre, followed by fourteen chapters, two contextual chapters at the beginning each dedicated to one production, and and the conclusion with the eponymous then short conclusion. These analytical title ‘The Serious Game’ – a formulation chapters on productions are quite inde- expressing Törnqvist’s interpretation of pendent, but Törnqvist is very methodi- Bergman’s theatre as such metaphorically. cal (and instructive) so that the chapters Törnqvist was one of the leading schol- have almost identical structure. He in- ars in the field of Scandinavian studies troduces the play, its key dramaturgi- and a significant part of his work aimed cal issues and shortly touches upon the at international, mainly English-speaking production’s context, then he goes into audiences, so it is not surprising that his detail. He describes general features of last book is carefully conceptualized to fit the stage design, the main dramaturgical in. In the preface, Törnqvist comments perspective, and then demonstrates it on on the previous publications of Bergman particular scenes. This is the strongest as- and his theatre work. The English reader pect of the book – Törnqvist’s ability of can already use many books providing the vivid description and thoughtful choice general overview, such as Ingmar Bergman: of evocative details of the production (he
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intently choose only productions he wit- the use of extras (representing figures of nessed himself or these which are video- servants) as living props. The final mo- documented, which allows him to pro- ment is of particular importance (and is vide, when necessary, detailed transcripts probably connected to Kott’s readings of stage action). of Shakespeare), as the only two surviv- The analytical chapters serve very well as ing allies, Edgar and Albany, cross their particular arguments supporting the gen- swords and this image disappears in dark- eral characterization of Bergman’s view on ness with the sound of thunder – so the theatre as shown in the preface. Törnqvist wheel of power struggle starts again. In describes him as a director heavily bearing Hamlet, Bergman searched for and high- on actors and acting, respecting their crea- lighted motives of sacrifice and passion in tivity but at the same time being very au- its very Christian sense – for example the
reviews ] [ reviews thoritative. Bergman’s dramaturgy almost mad Ophelia handed Gertrude and oth- totally ignored the contemporary drama ers rusted nails instead of the ‘traditional’ (from the theatre of absurd onwards) flowers. and relied mainly on ‘classical’ text in its The respect for the author and the urge wide sense; Bergman himself often ex- to interpret the plays in the actual social pressed appreciation for these texts, their and emotional context might often lead to universality, and transcendent potential. (very thoughtful and concise) adaptation Even though Törnqvist very often quotes which goes against the author’s assumed in- Bergman’s statements and often speaks tention. For example in Ibsen’s Nora, there from his perspective, at this point he im- is only one child in the Helmer’s family, mediately states, that these declarations a girl, who witnesses the crisis of her par- do not contradict the simple and evident ent’s relationship. This trauma will prob- fact that Bergman sometimes did quite es- ably influence the girl in future as Nora sential cuts and changes in his scripts. The herself is also a traumatized child. Such characterization of this dramaturgical ap- interpretation is possible partly through proach and its seemingly paradoxical na- tracing the changes of the text and is part- ture is one of the leitmotifs of the book. ly demonstrated in the added pantomime It is not surprising that among the ana- scenes which reshape a story of the play lysed productions, there are works based into a new one. Subtle discussions of these on Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Strindberg, changes and their dramaturgical implica-
joined by Moliere, O’Neill, Schiller, and tions constitute the core of the book. [ 22 / 2019 1 ] Euripides, with Yukio Mishima’s Madame In the case of Miss Julie, Törnqvist pro- de Sade being the only ‘contemporary’, or vides the reader with detailed discussion to be more accurate, post-war drama. of different motivations for Julie’s suicide,
There are many inspiring samples of demonstrating Strindberg’s intentions, Theatralia Bergman’s directing choices and solutions historical background as well as Berg- described. His version of King Lear, inter- man’s strategy of reinterpretation of these preted almost like a morality play, working motivations so that it would be credible for with the symbolic colours of costumes of his actual audience. Bergman eventually both competing sides, foregrounding the created complicated interplay between the topic of power and manipulation through stage and the costumes referring to the his-
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torical context (especially the stage design omnipotent director and his complex vi- setting the whole production to the period sion, contrasting with the director’s de- of the play’s origin) and searched for the pendence on and respect and love for actual significance of the production. For actors, the issues of modernization and Törnqvist, (theatre-) directing is evidently actualization (especially in terms of visu- the tool for controlling meaning and or- ality) but still attempting to preserve the Theatralia ganizing spectator’s focus; in the descrip- original historical qualities of the drama. tion of the final scene inMiss Julie, he says: In stage design, there are also attempts ‘She held her lifted arms so her position to create a kind of community connec- expressed both desperation and protec- tion between the actors and the audience,
[ 22 / 2019 1 ] tion from the mortal blow; in addition the yet still preserving the artificial nature of spectator’s gaze was directed to her neck theatre art. All these features are not just
which was soon to be cut by her suicidal about Bergman’s theatre; they are much ] [ reviews razor’ (49). This concept would be suitable more general. They are the founding ele- for many directors of Bergman’s ‘genera- ments of the modern theatre as such – tion’ or period, an approach which might but they perfectly fit the Bergmanesque be called late modernist directing. No mat- context (and could be derived from Törn- ter how significant the alternations of the qvist detailed analyses and dramaturgical pretext are, Bergman still eventually cre- discussions in the book). ates his new coherent vision. (He, for in- The only limitation of the book is that stance, went so far, that he would insert Törnqvist focuses only at Bergman and his small, obviously autobiographical, details theatre, despite doing his best to provide into Ibsen’s Ghosts so that the production the reader with the period background. would in times resemble a very personal In the publication’s conclusion, he sums confession.) up all the features of Bergman’s approach The overall idea of Bergman as the late without any further contextualisation and modernist director emerges in all chap- theoretical conceptualisation. This omis- ters. The issues Bergman is dealing with, sion poses a challenge for the forthcoming the choices he is making and even the way generation of scholars, as there was quite he presents himself, remind methods and a lot of work done in providing descrip- rhetoric of directors like Giorgio Stehler, tions, overview and particular analysis, to Jean Villar or Otomar Krejča, to mention bring Bergman’s work from the closet of at least one widely known Czech based national genius, so he could be – together artist. Many issues discussed by the critics with his theatre productions – interpreted in Bergman’s case, might be heard and and evaluated in the European context. read across the European theatre in the In the preface, Törnqvist states: ‘Film is 1960s and the 1970s, and are of great sig- an international medium, theatre is a na- nificance to the late development of mod- tional one’ (9). He uses this argument to ern directing (before the post-modern explain why Bergman’s theatre work, even turn): director declaring truthfulness and though it twice outnumbers his movies, respect to the dramatic text, but changing is rarely known outside Sweden. How- the text and its meaning fundamentally, ever, from his descriptions and analysis, certain tension between strong, almost one can at least hypothesise that certain
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features of directing approaches are re- of the modern European theatre as such. appearing in the modern theatre directing Already from reading Törnqvist’s book, it around the whole of Europe. The com- is more than clear that such an adventure parison of different national theatre cul- would be worth trying and it would bring tures and theorising about these patterns more differentiated understanding to the might help conceptualise the development work and figure of Ingmar Bergman. reviews ] [ reviews [ 22 / 2019 1 ] Theatralia Theatralia
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