Kåre Conradi is one of Norway's best known actors. While his background is in theatre, he has done television and film too. He is also a Jazz singer. Kåre has been part of the National Theatre of Norway since 1999 and has performed in more than 30 productions. This month he will be in Mumbai with his acclaimed solo performance of Henrik Ibsen's play PEER GYNT. The play is part of the first Ibsen festival in Mumbai (31st October-3rd November 2014) that has been organized by Ila Arun and her company in collaboration with the Royal Norwegian Embassy. Kåre Conradi talks about his monologue and about PEER GYNT and its continuing relevance.  By Deepa Punjani Deepa Punjani (DP): I believe it's the first time that you are staging your one man show of Ibsen's PEER GYNT in India. How do you feel about it? Kåre Conradi (KC): I am very proud to be invited by Ila Arun for this very first Ibsen Festival in Mumbai. I have never been to India before and to be invited to do what I love the most - tell stories and work with Ibsen, makes this already a unique experience for me. The theatre will be the biggest I have ever performed this production in. That is thrilling! I am proud and honoured to be invited! DP: Did Ila Arun suggest that you stage this particular work since her group is also performing an adaptation of the play at the same time, in order that we may see two different versions of the same play, or was it your idea? KC: I met Ila at the Ibsen Festival at The National Theatre where I work in Norway in 2012. She had an amazing energy! I did my performance there and she came to see the English version. My discussions with Ila on Ibsen after this impressed me so much...Not only does she know Ibsen well but she breathes Ibsen. When she speaks of him it becomes so personal. So my answer would be that I don't know when she decided to do PEER GYNT but she probably has all Ibsen's characters inside her already ready to come out. It wasn't my idea but monologue is storytelling the whole play in my words and Ibsen's words, so I think it is a perfect introduction to her version. DP: You are very familiar with the play having played the title role and you also have a version for children. But what makes this one-man performance that you will be staging in India unique? KC: I always relate the monologue to where I am and to whom I am speaking. So the versions always change with the audience. A critic once wrote it is almost stand-up, and I guess it is as well. I have also added some new bits to make the connection to India even stronger. I remember in Scotland once there was only ONE person in the audience...Ha ha. I asked him "Are you ready for this?" And he said yes. I then asked if he knew PEER GYNT and he said "No sorry" and then I said "Now you shall.'' It was one of my best performances and he turned out to be an actor in a theatre there and told many to come after that show. So it filled up! Imagine if I hadn't performed! DP: Tell us a little about your process from working with the text to staging it with your co-director E. Gording. Did you encounter any particular challenges? KC: She was my mentor and director and the one who taught me the importance of trusting the written word. And I live with it. She was an actress who unfortunately now is dead. She was almost 90 years old or so and she had a good life. We did a youth production of PEER GYNT together when I was younger and my solo piece sprung from there. In the recent version I have had help from Terje Maerli, Norway's leading director of Ibsen. He is now part of The Norwegian Ibsen Company. DP: You have done over 200 performances of this production. Which has been your best experience to date staging it? KC: Again it would be that evening with that one person in the audience. It was a very intimate space as well. He cried and told me it had been unreal to be there alone and to be told the story like this. However, managing to reach out to 300 graduate-students (Russ) in Norway in a gymnasium on the morning after they had stayed up drinking all night to celebrate 1st May was fantastic too. It proves Henrik Ibsen has something to tell us all, no matter where we are in life and what time in the morning. He continues to surprise me every day and I learn so much of myself through his plays. DP: In India, PEER GYNT has not been frequently produced as compared to other plays by Ibsen; the most popular among them being A DOLL''S HOUSE. Yet PEER GYNT is a play remarkable for the way it is written and of how it traces the journey of its eponymous character from youth to old age. What are the most interesting aspects of the play to you? KC: Ibsen knows our inner deepest secrets. He knows the empty dark corners we all share and the lies we tell others but even more important the lies we tell ourselves. In PEER GYNT we discover that yet again - through the words of Ibsen - we are not alone in our fight with ambitions, dreams, loneliness disappointment, darkness, and immense joy brought on by brief lies that feel good at the moment but slowly and gradually take away the self, who we are, who we could have been. In PEER GYNT, Ibsen also tells us about salvation found through faith and love. Peer is a fantastic character even with all his rudeness, DP: You are also a Jazz singer. Did you train for it the way you trained for your acting at the National Theatre School of Norway and at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts (LAMDA)? KC: My parents introduced me to Sinatra's music when I was three. I listened to Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr... I have trained with different vocal coaches who have worked with singers like Shirley Bassey and Kirsten Flagstad. But I never trained in singing like I did for drama. I play different instruments as well but all I can offer with my music is to tell a story. So many sing much better than I do and I can only focus on telling the stories. I sing in my own way. In London, they call me Corey and it's funny because when you go to YouTube and search for Corey all that comes up is music. Maybe you will find some film and some theatre whereas theatre is my true foundation. Deepa Punjani is the Editor of this website. Click here to read Ila Arun's interview about the festival Click here to read KK Raina talk of his direction and performance in PIR GHANI Click here to read what Manoj Shah has to say about his version of THE MASTER BUILDER Click here for the Preview of PIR GHANI Click here for the Preview of MASTER BUILDER Click here to read about the seminar in which Kåre Conradi will also be participating read / post your comments More Interviews Neeraj Shirvaikar Ram Ganesh Kamatham Tannaz Irani Lillete Dubey Sharodiya Chowdhury and Sarthak Sharma Interview With Vishaal Asrani and Jiji Subhi BAKUL THAKKAR AND SURYA GOVLE Devendra Rao Interview Sharvari Lohokare Interview Vijay Kenkre Interview Trupti Thakkar and Ankit Gor Interview Aditya Rawal and Zahan Kapoor Umesh Shukla Interview Interview With Juhi Babbar Soni Mallika Shah Interview J BRANDON HILL INTERVIEW Anahita Uberoi Interview Interview with Jeff Goldberg Dr. Shweta Pendse Interview Interview with jamini Pathak Ashok Pandey Gagan Dev Riar Interview Taranjit Kaur Pankaj Pathakji Interview Vipul Vithlani Interview Saurabh Nayyar Interview Mukta Barve Interview Vihaan Samat Interview Vijay Kumar Interview Umesh Kamat Interview Jatin Sarna Interview Debanshu Shekhar Interview Vandana Bhushan Interview Vikas Bahari Interview Trinetra Tiwari Interview Anand Ingale Interview Deshik Vansadia Interview Kapil Dev Interview Arvind Gaur Interview Niketan Sharma Interview Ipshita Chakraborty Singh Interview Ramesh Talwar Interview Nivedita Bhattacharya Interview Jeff Goldberg Interview Ajeet Singh Palawat Interview Amitosh Nagpal Interview Ajitesh Gupta Anshulika Dubey and Aakash Prabhakar Ulka Mayur Shiv Tandan Interview Hemant Jha Interview Sangita Joshi Interview Akarsh khurana Interview with Parul Rana Satchit Puranik Interview Raell Padamsee Interview Simar Singh Interview Siddharth Randeria Interview Chandrakant Kulkarni Interview Trishla Patel Interview Danish Husain Interview Anju Makhija Interview Swati Das Interview Paromita Chatterjee Interview Akriti Singh Interview Vivek Raj Tandon Interview Avneesh Mishra Interview Imran Rasheed Interview Choiti Ghosh Interview Ila Arun & KK Raina Juuhi Babbar Sonii Interview Jay Upadhyay Interview Bhakti Rathod Interview Chandrashekhar Gokhale Interview Preeta Mathur Interview Denzil Smith Interview Rajendra Butala Interview Amitesh Grover Interview Vighnesh Joshi Interview Rajesh Deshpande Interview Mohammad Ali Baig Interview Dolly Thakore Interview M. 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Interview Mallika Taneja Anurupa Roy Vipul Vilas Mahagaonkar Sneha Desai Suruchi Aulakh Geetanjali Kulkarni Sushama Deshpande Interview Choiti Ghosh Naveen Kaushik Nadir Khan Roberto Frabetti Anuja Ghosalkar Saurabh Shukla Interview Sunil Shanbag Interview Jean-Michel Adam Sachin Jadhav Rajat Kapoor THE META 2016 Festival Interview with the Directors of the Plays Pritesh Sodha Nimmy Raphel Shena Gamat Aniruddha Khutwad Gagan Dev Riar Paromita Chatterjee David Goodale Happy Ranajit Simon Reade Daniele Bartolini Glenn Hayden Ramu Ramanathan Interview Vikram Phukan Kalki Koechlin Interview Uttam Gada Adhir Bhat Vikranth Pawar Sudipto Chatterjee Ellen Rees Chris Edmund Iqbal Niyazi Sanjay Goradia Vinay Sharma Shafaat Khan Sanjukta Wagh Interview Sanjoy Roy Interview Tushar Pandey Anupama Chandrashekar Interview Deepa Gahlot Interviews Tony Adigun Ila Arun Interview Kare Conradi KK Raina Manoj Shah Interview Luckyjee Gupta Ajit Kelkar Syv Bruzeau Rupesh Tillu Vikash Khurana Jim Sarbh Mahesh Dattani Interview for SDDS Education Krutika Desai Dalip Sondhi Daniel Goldman and Benjamin Samuels Vir Das Interview Asghar Wajahat Deshik Vansadia Sushama Deshpande Rajiv Krishnan Interview Neeraj Kabi Tom Alter Ashvin Gidwani Interview Pip Utton Achyut Vaze Interview Deepak Kurki Shivaswamy Satish Alekar Interview Jaimini Pathak Interview Neel Chaudhuri Meherzad Patel Mahesh Dattani interview for THE BIG FAT CITY Nandini Trivedi Akash Mohimen Deepika Arwind Manjima Chatterjee Kath Mainland Anupam Kher Bijon Mondal Manoj Mitra Georges Banu Sudhanva Deshpande Interview Eric Vigner Deepa Gahlot1 Premanand Gajvi Rahul Varma Om Puri Nissar Allana Om Katare Interview Rajiv Krishnan Rashi Bunny Nandita Das Farooq Chaudhry D'Lo Shankar Tucker Ranvir Shah Ira Dubey Interview Ashok Patole Mathivanan Rajendran Saurabh Shukla Ashok Hande Nandu Madhav Sujata Goel Ratha Pathak Shah Shaili Sathyu(1) Shubhrajyoti Barat Preethi Athreya Corinne Jaber Rajesh Kumar and Rana Pratap Senger Arjun Sajnani Arundhati Ghosh Sudhanva Deshpande Raamu Ramanathan Sayeed Alam Zane Dalal Jumana Kapadia Shernaz Patel Satyadev Dubey1 Makarand Sathe1 Sankar Venkateswaran Sabera Shaik Achyut Vaze Hassan Abdulrazzak Amrita Lahiri Avaan Patel Neeta Reshamiya Ira Dubey Ila Arun Meenal Kapoor Shubha Mudgal & Aneesh Pradhan Kedar Shinde Khalid Mohamed Deepa Gahlot Sameer Vidwans Low Kee Hong Waman Kendre Andrea Gronemeyer Pradeep Vaiddya Padmini Chettur Kumud Mishra(1) Faruk Kabir Nandesh Umap Zuleikha Chaudhari Nausheen Ali Sardar Naseeruddin Shah Ahlam Khan Sunil Barve Saif Hyder Hasan Shweta Tiwari Neena Kulkarni Judy Hegarty Lovett Sunil Vishnu K Chetan Bhagat Ketki Dave Atul Parchure Vikram Gokhale Azaad Bharti Dr. Mohan Agashe Mahesh Manjrekar Chandradasan Lillette Dubey-I Kuljeet Singh Juhi Babbar Rajesh Khattar Gaurav Chopra Payal Rohatgi Feroz Abbas Khan Swanand Kirkire Vandana Sajnani-II Kevin Tayebaly Vahan Badalyan Chetanya Adib Payal Kapoor Rakesh Bedi Sameer Iqbal Patel Om Katare-II Shifalli Shah Simon McBurney Mujeeb Khan-II Akarsh Khurana Preeta Mathur Thakur Makrand Deshpande Manoj Shah (II) Manoj Shah Saumya Joshi Quasar Thakore Padamsee Mohit Takalkar Hari Mina Bala Jehan Manekshaw - Interview 2 Timira Gupta Jyoti Dogra Lillette Dubey Mahesh Dattani Chandan Roy Sanyal Sunil Shanbag (ii) Jairaj Patil Jehan Manekshaw K Raja Ravi Verma Sankar Venkateswaran Heisnam Tomba Hariharan Jamini Pathak Hilda David Satish Alekar Vir Das Ranjit Hoskote Om Katare Nipun Dharmadhikari Satyadev Dubey Dipan Ray Stefan Kaegi Zafar Karachiwala Dakxin Bajrange Makarand Sathe Ramu Ramanathann Cyrus Dastur Shekhar Sen Benjamin Juhel Chaitanya Tamhane And Sudeep Modak Sujata Mehta Asif Basra Barry John Nagesh Bhosale Astad Deboo Manhar Gadhia Sandesh Bhandare Usha Ganguli Sushama Deshpande & Suhas Joshi Jyoti Vyas Arundhati Nag Habib Tanvir Ramu Ramanathan Pushan Kripalani Harold Pinter Rajeev Ravindranathan Rajendra Gupta Viji Iyengar Sunil Shanbag Darshan Jariwalla Smriti Irani Atul Kumar1 Ashwin Gidwani Toral Shah Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal1 Shaili Sathyu Sanjay Narvekar Rohini Hattangady Dr. Ashok Ranade Vandana Sajnani Mahesh Elkunchwar Madhu Rye Mahesh Thakur Srimathi Madiman Kinnari Vohra Joy Fernandes C.K. Thakkar Jameel Khan Anupama Jayaram Lilelette Dubey Avatar Gill Dharmendra Gohil Rajesh Puri Kumud Mishra Kumar Shahu Meenal Patel Mujeeb Khan Anant Mudra Utkarsh Mazumdar Shekhar Sen1 Manav Kaul Rati Agnihotri Smita Jaykar Uday Chandra Rahul Da Cunha Atul Kumar Manoj Joshi Jaimini Pathak Boman Irani Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal Naseerudin Shah Joy Fernandez Kamlesh Mota Dinesh Thakur    Discussion Board

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