Versailles - a colorful adventure

Janne, a 12-year-old girl, is in the middle of packing for her family trip to Greece. There are only a few hours left before they leave, but wait! She hasn't finished a school assignment about the ancient French castle of Versailles, which is due today! She writes and writes, but she doesn't have time to finish this assignment before the family leaves. Until her fellow traveler to Greece, Torstein, gives her a little tip, and suddenly she's lost in dreamland.

Despite the fact that this performance is intended for a younger audience from 9 to 13 years old, it was an entertaining piece for us older viewers too. The actors played objects instead of using props, while playing several different roles, which gave the play an extra spark. The over-dramatization expressed through lavish costumes, makeup, and exaggerated acting, mixed in with humor appropriate for the younger, older crowd, as well as vibrant colors all around, tied it all together. 

The performance struck different chords with us SUS-ers. Some of us found the play entertaining, while some of us didn't necessarily find it too childish, but a bit boring. For the most part, the humor was of course more suitable for a younger audience, as the target group was for children a few years younger than us. Therefore, it was not as exciting for everyone to follow. Furthermore, we believe that the target group set for the play was appropriate, and that it could even have been lowered slightly, to 7-13 years, instead of 9-13. Even though the message of the play might not have come across as well to such a young audience, the play would still have been entertaining.

It was easy to follow because the plot was adapted for younger audiences and the over-dramatization made it easy to understand what was going on, which some of us liked. The colorful costumes and makeup spiced up the whole play, and the breaking of the stereotypical gender roles was a fun touch to the play.

Not only was the show designed to entertain, there was also a message hidden behind all the colors. It seemed like they were trying to get across how young people often feel the pressure to live up to everyone's expectations, and how you wish you could be accepted for who you are as yourself.

The end of the play was possibly dragged out a bit. It became a little more boring to follow, and we think the play could perhaps have been shortened a little. All in all, we liked the play and thought the actors were very talented, although some thought the atmosphere was not as captivating.

Written by the SUS editorial team 2019