DIVAN

Divan is a psychological relationship drama that happens both too early and too late. 

Divan is written by the world famous playwright Michail Durnenkov as a commissioned work for Klockriketeatern.

The skillfully constructed poetic text is written specifically for actors Ylva Ekblad and Jon Henriksen, who really get to shine on stage in this play directed by Dan Henriksson. 

Divan is full of sudden twists and turns, depth of the characters, difficult ethical choices and non-obvious conclusions. The production has been praised for being carefully directed for the stage, as well as for it’s intense visual design and cinematic sound world. And in the centre of it all: the art of acting.

The plot centres around two characters – She and He – simultaneously both victims and perpetrators. She is twenty years older than him, she is an actress and he is a journalist. Different memories surface when they meet in a battle against each other and themselves. Both of them promise to tell the truth. But is there a way out of the labyrinth of memories?

The play is in Swedish
Subtitles in English, Finnish, Russian and Swedish
 

“The best play I have seen in Finland!” – Audience feedback

“With her long stage experience, Ylva Ekblad fills her role as the Diva, shifting seamlessly between moments of glamour and desperation. It is beautiful to watch.”  – Svenska Yle

“The actors barely have to touch each other, and still we find ourselves immersed in their unexpected desire.” – HBL

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SUBTITLES for your own phone

- Download the free SUBTITLE MOBILE app from your app store (App store / Google Play).
- Ensure that your mobile device is fully charged and on silent mode.
- Open the app and follow the instructions.
- Enter code 77YC
- Select the subtitle language.
- Subtitles will start automatically when the performance begins.

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Dan Henriksson: "Everything is true, when the memory becomes larger than life

"Mikhail Durnenkov's new text is a pressure cooker on a gas flame. Emotions, longing, betrayal, madness, poetry and glamor bubble up inside. 

Everything starts with music. The story unfolds like a matryoshka with layers of surprises and twists, new secrets.

The Diva DIVAN has many faces, exposed and hidden. Now as the pandemic has eased its grip: it's time to tear off the mask and let go. 

Who am I, who are you? Where are we  – is there a light, a way out of the labyrinth of memory?

On stage, two characters meet in battle with each other and themselves. He and She promise to tell the truth. About love and longing, about pain and glamour. About the archipelago and the loss, the passion and the obsession.

Therefore, it becomes comical for us who follow along - because everything is true, when the memory becomes larger than life. Retold through a cracked mirror, it becomes a little..., well, maybe just comical?"

- director Dan Henriksson

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Michail Durnenkov: "Writing is like covering a painting with layers of varnish"
 

"My goal as playwright is to make a text that resurrects my long-forgotten enjoyment of a well-made (and acted) story in the theater.

I usually write plays easily and quickly and take a long, painful time to edit and polish them. 

I believe that the author should write a scene in the same rhythm as the actors will pronounce the text, then the lines come out most naturally.  But then the task is not to miss all the possibilities that need to be laid down for the future production. 

It's something like covering a painting with layers of varnish. The more layers the better. It is clear that not all the layers are used by the directors and not all of them are visible in the work, but as a playwright I am sure that they must be there."

– playwright Michail Durnenkov