Melancholia II and I
By Jon Fosse
Stage adaptation by Oda Radoor – a production by Ymist
Before the performance, there will be a pre-show talk in the North Foyer at 5:30 p.m. with Fred Huvenes, a certified teacher and literary scholar.
The mystery surrounding the illness and creative power of landscape painter Lars Hertervig (1830–1902) lies at the heart of Jon Fosse’s two *Melancholia* novels—and of Ymist’s extensive adaptation, *Melancholia II* and *I*.
The play explores the dissolution of the mind, the shifts between hope and despair, the power of love, and existential loneliness. It explores the loss of control over the body and the path toward death. The novel’s text is lifted from the pages of the book and brought into the theater, where it flows through the actors’ bodies.
Fosse's evocative and at times impenetrable language takes on a theatrical form in a grand, holistic work of art, in which the speaking and choreographed body stands side by side with music, set design, and lighting design.
Lars Hertervig tried to capture the light in his paintings. He himself believed that his constant gazing at sunlit landscapes—and the lack of vibrant colors—was the reason he became psychotic.
“I’m going to paint your picture away,” he repeated. In this sentence lies both a destructive and a life-giving impulse—a darkness and a light. It is within this tension that the exhibition navigates.
Ymist turns Fosse’s chronology on its head:
First, we encounter Lars through the memories of his sister Oline. Then through the author Vidme, who has decided to begin writing a novel about Lars Hertervig. Finally, the audience is thrust into Lars’s own tormented thoughts and escalating psychosis.
Cast
Melancholia I
Erlend Samnøen – director and choreographer
Morten Espeland – performer
Huy Le Vo – performer
Ine Marie Wilmann – performer
Oda Radoor – adaptation and dramaturg
Ingeborg Staxrud Olerud – lighting design
Nils Jakob Langvik – composer
Kjersti Alm Eriksen – set and costume design
Daria Zarbeeva – technician
Billie Barker – producer
Melancholia I is supported by the Norwegian Cultural Council, the Fund for Performing Artists, and Fritt Ord.
Melancholia II
Morten Espeland – performer
Gaute Storsve – composer
Maja Nilsen – set and costume design
Oda Radoor – adaptation and dramaturgy
Ingeborg Staxrud Olerud – lighting design
Erlend Samnøen – direction and choreography
Melancholia II is supported by the Norwegian Cultural Council, the Fund for Sound and Image, Tou Scene, the Fund for Performing Artists, the Bergesen Foundation, Fritt Ord, the City of Oslo, and Hordaland County.
About Ymist
Ymist is a Norwegian performing arts company founded in 2014 by actor Morten Espeland and choreographer and director Erlend Samnøen. The company works at the intersection of theater, dance, and performance, and is particularly known for a stage style where choreographed movement is just as important as the spoken text.
Ymist often takes its starting point in literary texts not originally written for the stage, including works by Jon Fosse, Tarjei Vesaas, and Thomas Mann. The goal is to give literature a physical form and explore the materiality of the text through the actor’s body, voice, and physicality. The company has made its mark on stages such as Black Box Theater, Tou Scene, and Cornerteateret, and has received critical acclaim for its work.
