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

y the tinsmith, and all the rest of the players were equipped with corresponding
shabbiness, and there was no trace either of procession or of fencing either on horseback
or on foot.
Worse yet was the fact that the iambic dialogue, with its many archaisms and
inversions, which in any case was delivered in less than correct Danish and partly with
less than distinct voices, was practically incomprehensible to the Swedish provincial
public. It was therefore not strange that the first act was presented in solemn silence, and
that Director Hagbarth, when the curtain fell in utter silence, expressed his indignation
that one "should play a masterpiece to such sleepyheads!"
In the second act, when the skald Halloge, with Erik and the rest of the warriors
who have taken part in the battle where Alf has fallen, come back from the duel, the
management's tactic to make the strife appear to be as bloody as possible had been to
leave all the warriors with the exception of Erik behind on the battlefield. Accordingly I
entered alone with the old singer, who sang Alf's death-poem. Probably the shining
armor, which I had not worn in the first act, and which put all the rest of the costumes to
shame, had allowed the audience to be misled into taking me for a main character in the
coming part of the unknown play, and when Erik suddenly appeared as the skald's noble
defender against the queen's fury, and after reciting the pathetic speech about ingratitude
towards poets, followed him out carrying his harp, a thunder of applause broke out, which
was all the stronger in comparison with the whole foregoing silence.
When I came offstage I was met by Director Olsen, who almost choked by
bitterness paced back and forth like a lion in his cage and greeted me ironically with the
complimentary words: "That is what I call a masterpiece. You are, the devil break me, a
great artist, the greatest comic player I have ever seen. Just now I, who in thirty years
have played Hagbarth to thunderous approval in all three Nordic kingdoms, have given
one of my best scenes, without one hand having stirred for me; all the main characters
have been onstage and gone off without applause; the public slept until it snored! But
then you come on in a lousy little yeoman-role and speak a miserable exit speech of 10
lines -- and immediately the house breaks out clapping, so that the theatre shakes! I
130