Nasrin vil at teatret skal forandre oss

Fearless, fair and empathetic. These are words she uses to describe herself. We are happy to add: Resourceful and determined.

The energetic Nasrin Khusrawi has given audiences in Kilden strong and lasting memories with her leading role in this fall's "Anne Frank's Siblings". Now she is ready as the female icon Nora in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House". All the time with the clear goal that the experience in teatersalen should change us - even after we leave. She is so interested in this problem that she is now writing a script for a short film she wants to direct herself. It's about how an encounter, a momentary experience, changes the life of a person in a difficult situation. We won't reveal the plot - she will tell it herself on film. But it's about what she describes as "moving people" so that they not only speak, but also act in a new way. This is what she hopes the theater will achieve.

BORROWING THE LIVES OF OTHERS

Nasrin Khusrawi has a lot on and in her heart. The ability to enter into the lives and feelings of others is a major driving force in both her choice of profession and her life in general.

- I love being an actor. I love learning about other people's ways of expressing themselves and being able to understand them. Being allowed to borrow other people's lives is absolutely fantastic. You can't help but develop empathy," explains the committed actress who shares her empathy with both two-legged and four-legged friends. At home in the apartment she has at her disposal while working in Kristiansand waits the dog "Vida" - a Spanish street dog she has rescued and given a new life. Hence the name - "Vida" is Spanish for "life". Her empathy and commitment were there from an early age. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a psychologist. As an adult, she was admitted to the Norwegian School of Journalism, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Theater in Oslo and Stockholm, but chose the stage. Her childhood in Oslo consisted of a lot of dancing, scouting, choir singing and band music. Like so many other children around her. But even though she doesn't want to talk much about it, she admits that something has shaped her in a special way: Her parents came to Norway as political refugees.

- I see the world as a big picture because I've lived in several countries, I've experienced big changes in my life, and I've lived in several different ways of life. I've seen so much that I can't help but make some choices. I guess I've realized that I'm resourceful. I've also realized that I'm fearless. And many times I've thought, "My God, maybe I should have become a doctor and worked for Doctors Without Borders, or been a politician?". I find it so hard to just sit and watch. But I don't think I have sharp enough elbows. I'm not a great speaker. I'm just a very empathetic person. And I think I'm best suited to being in the theater, because here you have to develop empathy. It's an arena for learning to be social, to understand other people and "take" people - and I think I'm pretty good at that," says Nasrin, who likes to describe how the desire to act correctly and consistently has manifested itself in her life. For example, she was vegan for three years in protest against what she sees as a rotten food industry. "What gives me confidence is that I've managed to stand up for my ideals. That's more important than makeup and a beautiful exterior. Even if I don't always succeed, my challenge is to make a difference in the world.

NORA AND WOMEN'S STRUGGLE

Now you'll be playing Nora - one of Ibsen's most famous female characters and an icon for many in the women's movement. What do you think about that?

"A Doll's House" deals with so many themes, but deep down the play is about identity. You can, of course, talk about the theme in relation to subcultures today, or across national borders. But deep down, it's about identity. Underpinned by loneliness, fear and shame.

Where do you find Nora around you today? 

I think a lot of people can relate to Nora because of the battle of the sexes and gender equality, not least within different cultures," Nasrin emphasizes, and passionately explains how far she thinks gender equality has come, considering commercial beauty ideals, the fact that wearing the hijab is seen as oppressive to women while the make-up and decoration requirements for a woman are not. And not least: The fact that you don't expect the same from a man as from a woman. A woman has to be dressed up to be taken seriously - and equal.

Do dolls' houses still exist?

- Yes, they do. Very much so. I think we should start talking about the status of having read books, not whether you've bought the right organic products for your skin or the right clothes. I feel that market forces control us, or our thoughts, that we're constantly drawn to all these big posters that are supposed to grab our attention. We've lost our identity and the ability to make choices and assess, conclude, be ourselves. A very important question in relation to "A Doll's House" is: Who are you if what you have of value is taken away from you? Who are you then? 

Nora chose to leave everything behind - including her children!

Yes, and I think at the time she felt she was doing something wrong, because women didn't have the right to vote, weren't allowed to take out loans - there were a lot of things they weren't allowed to do, because they weren't of age without consent. Nevertheless, she came to terms with herself: "I have to leave this thing that I thought I needed, that 

I thought I could lean on. But there is no security in that. I have to leave what I have to find the human in me. And I think that was at the expense of the children because I think she took the criticism to heart, that she left the children because she also thought there was something wrong with herself. That the children would be influenced by her in some way. 

Do you identify with her?

I think you can do that with most people. I think most people have a core, and there are quite a few similarities with other people. I don't think there are a billion cores. I think there are some cores, and that you can find similarities. And I think there's something in everyone that you can recognize in yourself.

Even after a period of over a hundred years?

Yes, because relationships are usually unshakeable. They remain the same; love relationships, mother-daughter relationships, father-son relationships. I recognize myself in the way that I have to consider my choices. I want to stand up for the choices I make. I often feel guilty for not being able to live up to my own thoughts and ideals, and I sometimes feel that I am aware of people's mediocrity. That I want to escape from my own mediocrity.

THE MAGIC OF THE THEATRE

You have a lot on your mind. Do you write more than screenplays?

"Yes, I've written a few short stories," admits Nasrin Khusrawi - who still prefers to talk about her work on stage. She thanks her teacher at the Oslo National Academy of Theatre, Even Lynne Amundsen, who is now head of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Agder. And she gives us another declaration of love for her profession: - "What's so exciting about theater is that it's a place where you can understand other people better. A meeting place for the social, empathetic person. And you can apply to the theater to develop yourself. Just getting there shows that you're interested in making a difference, even if what you're doing is just buying a ticket and sitting in the dark watching someone make some movements. But going to the theater is magic, which I as an actor experience all the time. For example, on stage I see colleagues I know well in private, but what I see with them in the theater are the characters - other people. I can forget about time and place and just be in that room and not only look at the characters, but also at what lies behind them," says Nasrin, citing as an example a recent visit to a production where students at the Academy of Theatre performed Anton Chekhov's 

"The Seagull" - and she herself experienced how strongly the text reminded her of life itself. 

_{TEXT REIDAR MOSLAND}

_{PHOTO JACOB BUCHARD}