9 December 2007, 4pm
Curzon Mayfair
38 Curzon Sttreet
London
W1J 7TY
Box Office: 0871 7033 989
www.curzoncinemas.com
THE ENGLISH PREMIERE OF ERLAND
JOSEPHSON’S PLAY
One Summer Night In Sweden
En natt i den swenska sommaren
A reading directed by Brian Stirner
“One Summer Night in Sweden” is dedicated to Tarkovsky’s last masterpiece “The Sacrifice”. It is a philosophical, and often amusing, reflection on the clash of two cultures – the Russian and the Western - and the complex and passionate relationship between actors and director as they struggle to find their way to mutual understanding and acceptance.
In the summer of 1985, Andrei Tarkovsky shot his film “Offret” (“The Sacrifice”), starring Erland Josephson, on the island of Gotland. A great Russian film director shoots his film on an island during the long summer nights, stubbornly looking for the perfect light, the perfect image, the perfect mise-en-scène. The actors are waiting and the production is at a standstill. The sea roars and the seagulls are shrieking. As the hours pass, actors begin to get on one another’s nerves, mutual self-doubt becomes pronounced, and the creative process is starkly revealed.
Erland Josephson was born on June 15, 1923 in Stockholm. He has written several psychological novels, comedies and radio plays (“Loppans kvällsvard”, “Kameleonterna”, “Rollen”, “Sanningslekar”, “Föreställningar” ), all of them characterized by subtle irony and passion. As an actor, he performed for many years at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where he was also theatre director from 1966 to 1975. He is best known throughout the world for his performances in the films of Ingmar Bergman: “All These Women” (1964); “Passion” (1969); “Scenes from a Marriage” (1973); “Autumn Sonata” (1978), “Fanny and Alexander” (1983); “After the Rehearsal” (1984), “Saraband” (2003). He made two films with Andrei Tarkovsky - “Nostalgia” (1983) and “The Sacrifice” (1986).
Brian Stirner is a theatre, television and film director. He has been Associate Director of the Soho Poly Theatre and Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, and also directed at the Royal Court, Riverside Studios and in the West End. His production of “Holy Days” by Sally Nemeth won awards for Best Director and Best Ensemble Acting. Brian’s first feature film “A Kind of Hush” - which he both wrote and directed – won awards at European film festivals. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he regularly teaches.
Robin Fulton (translator) is a Scottish poet and an acclaimed translator. He has lived in Norway since 1973, working as a university lecturer. His most recent collections are “Fields of Focus” and “Coming Down to Earth and Spring is Soon”.