The story of Woundman and Robyn

"The Story of Woundman and Robyn" is originally a stage text written by Chris Goode that has been excellently translated into Norwegian by Kristofer Grønskag. It is directed by Patrick Asplund Stenseth and dressed in Katja Ebbel's beautiful set design. Accompanied by Jon Fosmark's musical accompaniment, actor Even Torgan tells the epic story of the boy "Robyn" and his new friend "Woundman".

The fifty-minute monologue is divided into ten "chapters", through which we get to know the young Robyn. He is very anxious and hopelessly in love with Svunne from class. He thinks a lot about his dead older brother and everything that comes after. When the superhero Woundman moves to the neighborhood, Robyn becomes his side-kick and follows him in his adventures around the city. Woundman is a character from 15th-century medical books, meant to represent all the wounds you can get in war. Figuratively speaking, he becomes an embodiment of all pain. Woundman travels from disaster to disaster, car fires and gas accidents, and when the bereaved see him, they find a kind of peace. Woundman's appearance resembles the feelings they have inside, and this reassures them.

All the chapters are accompanied by energetic and super-cool drum grooves. Fosmark's music is like a pulse underneath all the text and is an incredibly effective element in the story. In one of the chapters, where Robyn and Svunne drive home from training together, the musical picture takes a turn and Fosmark's fantastic vocals hurl us as an audience into a new universe, filled with starlight and tears in the heart - in short, puts us completely out.

The story of being head over heels in love, and all the pain that comes with it, resonates with my teenage heart. Actor Even Torgan fills the room with a story densely packed with emotions, and it's great as an audience member to be swept along. Even Torgan on stage is a charming and down-to-earth character, but unfortunately I quickly found that I liked him better on stage than off. After an awkward attempt to thank him for the performance, I gave up and headed home. This time we can call it opening night nerves, but adults must learn to greet young people!

This was a performance that moved me and has an important message. It's about daring to talk about feelings, or daring to feel them at all. I'm looking forward to seeing this performance this fall on behalf of all the young people!

Written by Anna Moberg