The person behind the mask
Ulla Marie Broch
For Ulla Marie Broch, it has been important to discover who the character Ebeneser Knug really is on the inside. Her foster cat, Selma, has helped her with that.
"I see Knug as an abandoned child. All joy has been taken from him. His way of coping is to shut everyone and everything out," says Ulla Marie Broch.
She plays the lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge in *A Christmas Carol* at Kilden. A grumpy, money-grubbing miser who puts his career before his relationships.
“I had to make the character feel like a real person, so he wouldn’t come across as a two-dimensional cartoon character,” says Broch.
Last fall, she took in a foster cat named Selma, who actually helped her understand Knug better.
– Selma has been neglected, and it takes a long time to build trust in that situation. It’s the same with Knug, too.
Takes children seriously
Charles Dickens wrote the short story *A Christmas Carol* in 1843, and the tale of Little Tim, who suffers from lung disease, and his family, who cannot afford medicine, still makes a deep impression. Ulla Marie Broch describes the children in the audience’s strong sense of commitment, as they are eager to help both by raising money and by obtaining medicine.
– That’s really great! Children in Norway grow up in a society of absurd abundance. We Norwegians can easily develop a distorted view of the world, and it’s nice to have stories that help broaden our perspectives.
The process has led the lead actor to reflect on how commercial forces affect both people and society.
“I myself have a 90-year-old mother with heart disease. She’s been shuffled around the system and has just secured a permanent spot in a nursing home after a long struggle. I’ve been shocked by how much cynicism, numbers, and statistics characterize the healthcare system,” she says.
In the performance, the power of the individual to make a difference serves as a counterbalance to selfishness and materialism.
– It doesn’t always take much to notice one another and look out for one another a little better. I think we have something to learn there.
– It doesn’t always take much to notice one another and look out for one another a little better.
The pandemic puts things into perspective
The coronavirus pandemic has raised awareness throughout the ensemble of just how dependent people actually are on one another.
“Everything has become a little more vulnerable. As actors, we’re used to going to work even when we’re sick. Now we can’t do that, so everything depends on us taking collective responsibility,” she says.
While theaters and cultural institutions are closed due to the coronavirus in many parts of Norway, performances at Kilden are currently proceeding as scheduled.
– We’re so lucky to still be able to perform! I’m absolutely thrilled and grateful for that. The pandemic and the lockdowns have made us even more aware of just how important art and culture are. We really feel the collective energy from the audience in the theater, and it feels like many people might appreciate coming to the theater a little more right now.
Text: Ingrid Anthonsen
Photo: Heida Gudmundsdottir