cultural resources in henrik ibsen's early environment - Ibsen.net

had now accordingly fallen into disfavor with both the chiefs, and my repertoire came to
bear witness of that.
It was always the smallest and least significant roles that fell to my lot. If ever I
did get a larger role, it was always an unsympathetic character, like Lord Melville in Kean
and similar gentlemen, who come on the stage merely in order to be abused. Even if I did
get small roles, I still could not complain that they were too few, since it regularly
happened that I got three or four in the same piece, for example an old servant in the first
act, a young servant in the second and third acts, the old servant again in the fourth and a
notary in the fifth.
The presentation of Hagbarth og Signe (by Oehlenschlæger) was a typical
production of that kind. Our leading lover had ordered this tragedy, which had not been
presented by us earlier, for a benefit performance, and the role assignments were: that the
half-century-old Olsen would play "Young Hagbarth;" his ugly little wife: beautiful
Signe; the beneficiary: Alger; Miller: Hamund, etc. To me remained the yeomen of the
guard Grim and Erik together with the prison guard combined into one character.
When we played on shares, everyone had to furnish himself with the costume
pieces which were not found in the wardrobe, and it owned only the remains of a suit of
armor, which naturally Hagbarth had to have. The beneficiary, who in Alger's role
appears suddenly "armed from head to toe in a new gleaming suit of armor, with helmet
grating lowered," had to order his armor, which obviously was reduced to a helmet and
coat of mail or rather storm-hat and breastplate. The words "arm-leathers and
mail-stockings" were struck in the dialogue, and it was delegated to the town's tinsmith to
equip him, Alf and Hamund.
It was also ordered that I procure myself the helmet and armor for the scene in the
second act where the yeoman enters from the battle; when I answered that I would create
armor made out of cardboard, which I hoped would be strong enough to last for the few
evenings in which the tragedy would be performed by us, Hagbarth's aforementioned
prospective portrayer answered:
"Just do not let it look as if everything is home-made!"
"If anything it will be too fine rather than too simple," I maintained.
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