''Nederlaget'' (The Defeat) is a play by the Norwegian writer
Nordahl Grieg, published in 1937.
The action is set in the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, established in 1871 after the
Franco-Prussian War, and the play follows the historical events surrounding this revolutionary uprising. The main character is the pacifist teacher Gabrielle Langevin, but historical figures such as
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...
also appear. The play's basic problem is whether evil can be fought with evil. In the play, the good forces lose because the rebels are executed toward the end of the play.
Grieg himself said that he wrote the piece under the strong influence of the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
's play ''
Die Tage der Commune'' (The Days of the Commune) from 1949 is based on Grieg's text. Brecht's play was first performed in 1957.
Performances
''Nederlaget'' was first staged at the
National Theater in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
on March 25, 1937, and then at the
National Theater in
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
a month later. It received very positive reviews and was staged at a number of major venues in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
.
In 1966,
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
's
Television Theater aired a version of the play directed by
Per Bronken
Per Bronken (13 March 1935 – 4 October 2002) was a Norwegian poet, novelist, actor, film director and stage producer.
Career
Bronken made his literary debut in 1955 with the poetry collection ''Kom drikk også mitt blod''. He made his stag ...
, with
Monna Tandberg
Monna Tandberg ( born 2 July 1939) is a Norwegian actress.
Personal life
She was born in Oslo to physician Morten Odd Tandberg and painter Nora Heffermehl. She has been married to Per Bronken and Arild Brinchmann, and from 1993 she lived wi ...
,
Roy Bjørnstad
Roy Bjørnstad (September 29, 1925 – November 25, 2005) was a Norwegian actor.
Bjørnstad made his debut in 1945 at the People's Theater in Sweden. Throughout his career, he was associated with several theaters in Norway, including the Trønd ...
,
Bab Christensen, and
Egil Hjorth-Jenssen in the leading roles.
References
{{reflist
External links
1937 edition of ''Nederlaget''at the
National Library of Norway
Norwegian plays
1937 plays