The sash impresses

I am a proud "Fredrikstaner", who generally doesn't like to praise the neighboring town of Sarpsborg, but this is what they should have: Særp Tropez impresses!

Late one Wednesday evening I made the trip to Høysand, Sarpsborg, to see the show Særp Tropez, Mekkegarasjen . I had seen a couple of their previous shows, and thought I had an idea of ​​what I was going to be presented with. Let's just say I was sorely mistaken. Along with my ticket in the mail, I was also told to meet up at a parking lot out on Høysand. I, who grew up with summer trips to the nearby beach, was, to put it mildly, curious about how on earth they could manage to put on a play here? When darkness had fallen over Høysand, and I got out of the car, I was greeted by something very strange. Around me there were waves crashing against the pier, trees swaying in the wind, and one other car. But this wasn't just any car. The car was lit up with colored LED lights, and stood very out of place in this otherwise very ordinary place. Two hours later we no longer had the impression that this was an "ordinary place." 

Into the mecca garage

In 2025, Særp Tropez was awarded a five-year artistic grant from the Arts Council, which gives the theater company the opportunity to stage both larger and smaller productions. Mekkegarasjen was the first smaller performance by Særp Tropez. I noticed this when I stood by this neon-lit car with fifteen other people, and realized that no more were coming. In the trunk of the car were workshop gloves in four different colors, which were supposed to represent the group we were going to be in. When I had put on my orange gloves, I was pointed out by a young girl with a flashlight. The performance was now starting. 

“Can you film me,” said the character Bea, played by Stella Johanne Fagervold, as she handed me her cell phone. I accepted it and pressed record. “Hello and welcome to my YouTube channel! Today, me and this gang behind me are going to sneak into the mekkegarasjen here in Høysand.” Bea waved us along and led the way to a gray, quiet building, where this performance would take place. When we entered the building, we were quickly taken back in time, to when the mekkegarasjen was full of life. 

Totally real life 

We were met by the characters Jan Willy (Erik Braatnes), Chris (Madeleine Fredstad Rødseth) and Adrian (Viktor Norstrand). Three people interested in motocross, of which the latter two actively raced. These were clearly central roles in the mecca garage, and the glue that held the place together. The conflict then became great, both individually with the characters and between each other, when it emerged that Adrian had received a letter of interest from the Solberg family itself. We, the group, were pulled back and forth between viewpoints, arguments, emotions and experiences from the lives of the different characters. At one point, I was sitting in the back seat of an old Volvo 940, wearing sunglasses and dancing to the song Scatman by Scatman John. When I spoke to an acquaintance who had been to another group, I learned that he had had a similar experience. Seamless logistics meant that each group of four had intimate, sensitive and real moments with the characters. Something I applaud the actors for. The ability each one had to convey the story was perfectly imperfect. The language was not polished or worked to perfection. The characters all had their own sociolect that made the lines very real and natural. Out of pure curiosity, I went to sarptropez.no to check who had written this brilliant script. There I found out that director Cici Henriksen, together with the actors themselves, had worked on the script. This may explain why the lines were so believable. It should also be mentioned that since this was an interactive theater, where we the audience were included in the dialogue, much of the actors' task was to improvise and respond to us as the audience, and our input. It was all the more impressive and important that the language that came naturally to the characters coincided with the script that was supposed to create a common thread throughout the performance. 

I'll quote something I wrote after I saw Særp Tropez's previous performance, Kvartal 99 , an interactive traveling theater where they set up an entire quarter in Sarpsborg: "A performance where the distinction between play and reality disappears for a few hours, goosebumps rise and all the senses are triggered." A sentence that still applies. Særp Tropez's interactive theater style, creativity and acting performances continue to blow me away.