Fanny and Alexander premiers on stage in Oslo

Around 80 percent of the tickets for the new stage production of Fanny and Alexander in Oslo are already sold out. More performances will added after New Year with new batches of tickets due for sale. Photo: The National Theatre (Nationaltheatret),

The National Theatre in Oslo presented the very first stage version of Ingmar Bergman`s “Fanny and Alexander”. The production has its world premiere on Saturday Nov. 7.

Ingmar Bergman’s most popular work had its cinema premiere in 1982 and is one of the great classics of Scandinavian cinema. People all over the world have been captivated by the sumptuous and vibrant Christmas celebrations of the Ekdahl family and suffered with them through their darkest and loneliest hours. The film won four Oscars.

The theatre production is based mainly on Bergman’s book version of “Fanny and Alexander”, which came out in the same year as the film. The book expands on many of the story`s themes.

“It’s a story that can be told in many ways. We are presenting it from a different angle from the film and hope it will enrich people`s experience of this masterpiece,” says the director, Kjetil Bang-Hansen.

Bang-Hansen says that he feels “privileged but at the same time terrified and humbled” to have been given the task of bringing “Fanny and Alexander” on to the stage for the first time.

Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) is considered to be one of the most important film makers of the contemporary era, but he also had a great love for the stage. He devoted large parts of his career to the theatre, both as a producer and artistic director. He said: “My films are just a distilled version of what I do in the theatre.”