The Lady from the Sea – Artistic Team
*The Lady from the Sea* is a play about contrasts—about cultural differences and identity. It explores the pull between the unknown yet dangerous and the safe yet conformist. Ellida Wangel’s attraction to the sea and *The Stranger* can, in many ways, be seen as an inspiration for Kilden international collaborations with people from all corners of the world.
The artistic team Kilden bears a striking, almost uncanny resemblance to the background of the play’s iconic character—The Stranger—in this year’s production. In the play, it is revealed that he wrote three letters: “Once he wrote from California and another time from China. The last letter I received from him was from Australia.” Fittingly , the play’s two young composers in Oakland Rain have backgrounds from the American West Coast, while choreographer Yabin Wang and set designer Ryall Burden hail from the latter two countries , respectively.
For everything to fall into place in Fjæreheia, it takes hard work, kindness, and teamwork, a little luck—and a touch of magic. The fact that the letters to Ellida fit so perfectly with the people behind the production must surely be a sign that this is going to be something truly special, don’t you think?
Theater director Birgit Amalie Nilssen, choreographer Yabin Wang, and the composers from Oakland Rain and Tove Kragset will become familiar faces this summer to those who make their way up to Fjæreheia to see “The Lady from the Sea.” But there are also others on the artistic team with fascinating backgrounds who might be worth getting to know.
Kimie Nakano – costume design
Kimie Nakano from Japan is the production’s costume designer and is a new addition to both Kilden Norway as a whole. With an international resume that few can match, Kimie is a welcome addition to the Norwegian theater scene.
Her rich and multifaceted background includes international literature studies in Japan and France, as well as many years of training in theater design and costume design in both France and England. Inspired by the Japanese art of flower arrangement, ikebana—which is both an art form and a Zen Buddhist philosophy—Kimie is an international heavyweight in the world of theater and the performing arts.
Now based in London, she has become a regular member of Yabin Wang’s company, in addition to designing for several of the world’s major institutions, such as the national ballet companies of Belgium, England, and Denmark.
In *The Lady from the Sea*, we encounter a design that embodies the cultural encounters we experience both in the performance and within the artistic team. East meets West, and the open sea meets the conformist, gray home.
Ryall Buden – set design
Australian Ryall Burden has gradually become a well-known name in design at Kilden. With his set design for *Fjæreheia* in 2018, as well as numerous productions for both Kilden and Kilden , few people are better suited for the demanding task of *The Lady from the Sea*.
Fjæreheia is a colossal undertaking, yet at the same time intimate. It takes hard work and dedication from all the technicians, carpenters, and other staff members to ensure that the sets and stage function optimally.
Ryall Burden’s familiarity with the place and its people, as well as his modern, artistic approach to theater and the text, lend the production a distinctive and beautiful style. He creates a distinction between sea and land, nature and culture, inside and outside, freedom and confinement, within a simple yet monumental stage design.
His understanding of the text’s dualistic nature allows the visuals to beautifully capture Ibsen’s contrasting ideas. The result is spectacular, yet intimate. Just like Fjæreheia.
Martin Myrvold – Lighting Design
Lighting designer Martin Myrvold is one of Norway’s leading artists in his field. In recent years, he has been frequently commissioned by both Kilden several of the country’s other leading institutions, such as the National Theater, the Norwegian Theater, and the National Touring Theater.
The last time he visited Southern Norway was when he designed the lighting for the theatrical concert *Peer Gynt*, a collaboration between Kilden and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. At that time, he also worked with set designer Ryall Burden, and together they form an artistic powerhouse duo who enhance each other’s artistic language in a simple and poetic way.
This summer in Fjæreheia, you’ll experience how Myrvold draws inspiration from the text, the quarry, and the slow Norwegian sunset. Here, the light and atmosphere gradually grow darker, wilder, and more mysterious as the performance and the evening stretch out and become more dramatic.
Rune Sundby – sound design
From the international to the very local. Rune Sundby was born and raised in Grimstad, and made his debut as a sound designer at Fjæreheia in the summer of 2018. But this wasn’t his first encounter with the quarry.
As early as 1999, at the age of 17, he worked as a candy vendor during a production of *Peer Gynt*, and since then he has worked as a sound technician and designer in various locations across the country. Rune has extensive experience with outdoor events and plays, and has worked at locations such as Fredriksten Fortress and the summer play The White Lady.
Rune is a perfectionist and an audio geek. Even the slightest angle of the speakers must be just right to convey the actors’ dialogue—as well as the music of Oakland Rain and Tove Kragset—to the audience in the best possible way.