The central revue – a Wiener with everything

Young Voices critic Jørgen Cleve Broch and mentor and critic Per Christian Selmer-Anderssen went to the Centralrevyen for the premiere. After the performance, they sat on the outdoor terrace at Fuglen and talked about what they had seen. The sound was poor due to drunk men in the background and poor technique, so here is an edited transcript in text form.

Per Christian: First of all, Jørgen, what kind of relationship do you have with revue?

Jørgen: I had my first encounter with a revue when I was in high school. In first and second grade I was a revue worker, and in third grade I was an actor in Nissenrevyen tar en backflip . It's fun to see a revue that isn't a school revue, because I've never done that before either. 

Per Christian: The director of the Central Revue is Karoline PU Schau, and she is also in the permanent ensemble at Oslo Nye Teater, which runs the Central Theatre. We both have a kind of relationship with her. Mine is highly professional: I have reviewed her since she was in high school and was very active in the school revue community. She won an award for what was then called “Best Female Actor”. She was also in the revue Snill , which is considered a legendary revue. But you know Karoline in a different way, Jørgen?

Jørgen: Karoline PU Schau was an instructor at the Nissernrevyen 2024, La La La La . At that time I was the media manager, but not on stage. In addition, I have worked with her in a film, so we have some acquaintance. When we worked on our own revue, Karoline Schau was a kind of legend for us. But I had never seen her do a revue herself. 

Per Christian: So we've both seen a lot of school revues, but maybe not so much revues on professional stages. What do you think was the difference?

Jørgen: A school revue often has a lot of internal humor – it's niche, and it sells on charm, because it's 16–18-year-olds who try their hand. At Centralrevyen, everyone on stage is extremely good, and that makes it much more fun. The ensemble is Karoline Schau, Helle Haugen, Ferdinand Falsen Hiis, Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud and Sarah Christine Sandberg, with Alexander Sjølie as a musician on stage. And since the ensemble is credited with the text and dramaturgy, they have written the revue themselves, and we recognize that from school revues.

Per Christian: And Karoline Schau is a trained actress at Khio, and on a daily basis she acts in everything but revue at Oslo Nye. It seems like she gives it her all: she is very red in the face, makes a lot of faces, acts big and dramatic. 

Jørgen: Yes, absolutely. It's an energy level that's absolutely insanely high. As if she's sprinting for two hours. An endurance that's very, very impressive. That she's in the film landscape, in the close and realistic, and also blows up the scale on a revue stage, it was fun to watch. And to know that yes – this is a legend.

Per Christian: All revues have a kind of universe; an ideology, things they believe in, someone who is good or evil. What do you think this universe was like?

Jørgen: Pretty great, because it falls well under the school revue category. What we see is a revue that doesn't try to claim that it's a different reality. It's very open that these are five actors fooling around and making faces and having a lot of fun together.

Per Christian: And what about the humor palette?

Jørgen: I'm not an expert on humor genres, but I think you have: energy-bombing character humor, situational comedy, humor between actor and audience, clowning – and they use a lot of puppets in several numbers. A very broad palette. They have a nuance of humor that is very nice: it's not everything you laugh at, but everyone laughs at least once during the revue. 

Per Christian: Do you remember how it started?

Jørgen: They joke that Oslo Nye has no money, that they don't have a revolving stage, and they do a dance where they simulate a moonwalk because the revolving stage is missing – and then the stage starts to fall apart. Then comes one of the numbers that I think was perhaps among the funniest: Karoline Schau plays the manager of Cutters, who has become very interested in being a 19th century woman. I didn't quite get the point of that sketch, but I thought it was funny.

Per Christian: Another highlight was Karoline Schaus's monologue, where she parodies the style of Cathrine Frost. She calls herself Karoline Frost and starts talking about Aristotle and things she doesn't quite have control over, but really she's just bitter because she's heartbroken.

Jørgen: I thought it was really fun, and at the end I connected that it was a Cathrine Frost reference. I'm not very good at references, I admit, but that doesn't take anything away from the performance. It's fun to sit next to you, Per Christian, because we laugh at completely different times. The times you laugh, I realize that something happened that I didn't catch. But it doesn't bother me, because it's such a comfortable scene anyway that I just sit back and enjoy myself.

Per Christian: What did you laugh at the most?

Jørgen: The start of the second act. Karoline Schau is trotting back and forth on stage, looking dejected, while we in the audience chat and mingle, waiting for things to calm down. I don't know why I found it so funny, but it hit me pretty hard.

Per Christian: Another highlight was the monologues. Ferdinand Falsen Hiis is a good dramatic actor – last seen in LIS on NRK – and Helle Haugen is an experienced character actor. They each have their own monologue, where they get to show their own strengths. 

Jørgen: Ferdinand's monologue about Hamburg is perhaps the one I remember best. The performance has a lot of energy, you are bombarded. His act served as a break, but was still very fun. It's a change of pace, he goes out to some unique music, takes his time, and then he says: "I was in Hamburg." And from there he starts telling about a legendary evening that ended quite badly.

Per Christian: They also break the fourth wall and talk to the audience. Any examples?

Jørgen: In the first act, there is a short break where Ferdinand says that now we are going to play “Guess Who”. Karoline turns around and covers her ears, and Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud chooses an audience member for Karoline to point out. Then everyone stands up, and Karoline has three minutes to ask questions and put people back down based on the answers. Among other things, she asked who is embezzling tax money, and who could have been a Nazi in the 1940s. The ensemble seems very well-coordinated and confident in each other – a lot of what happens seems like improvisation, especially from Andreas Stoltenberg. It helps us in the audience to relax – we are not just a fly on the wall, we are allowed to join in the fun.

Per Christian: There was a lot of political stuff – about the city council and cuts in Oslo Nye. We wondered if there would be internal humor. Was there?

Jørgen: There were some sketches that had that as their point, but the internal humor is of a more general kind. You don't have to be an employee at Oslo Nye to know that they are being cut. The performance itself defends quite well why Oslo Nye should exist.

Per Christian: I have a critical question: if the performance itself defends why Oslo Nye must exist – why do so many numbers have to be about that? It's not an internal Christmas party revue.

Jørgen: I think you have a point there. But they are playing in their own house that is threatened. They are allowed to fuck with those who tear them down. And comparing internal humor in a school revue to internal humor in Centralrevyen is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Oslo Nye has a greater public interest than what happens in the staff room. I think it's cool that they bite the hand that gives them support. 

Per Christian: What was the aesthetic like?

Jørgen: Quite minimal – a mostly empty stage, projection on the wall, and occasionally a sofa that came in and out. Lots of light. The costumes were all sorts of strange, from beautiful dresses and jacket sets to completely everyday clothes, with basic costumes they went back to – quite recognizable from school revues.

Per Christian: The Central Theatre is located across from VG on Akersgata. Had you been there before?

Jørgen: I was actually there about a month ago, when Kruttårnteatret was playing The Jungle Book . It's quite cramped, but pleasantly cramped. It's narrow just before you enter the hall, and then it opens up and you land in the large room. It was a premiere, so when the doors opened there was a kind of pull of heat. Very difficult to describe, but it felt quite warm and lovely. The theatre is from 1897, supposedly.

Per Christian: We won't roll any dice, but you'll get to make a little judgment.

Jørgen: The Central Revue is very successful. It is a show that tries to entertain, and it does entertain. You get tired of watching it – tired of laughing. But you can also relax in your chair. If there is one thing I would pick on, it is that the first act is a bit long. That is the only thing. And the subtitle “A Viennese with everything” is a good fit – they have everything in there: singing, dancing, humor of all kinds. It lives up to its name. I highly recommend it, and I will go back myself.