B. Dybwad Brochmanns forsvarstale

The year is 1947, and Bertram Dybwad Brochmann is on trial for treason. The case is being heard in Voss district court, and Brochmann must explain himself before the court.

Based on stenographic transcripts, legal documents, and Brochmann’s own writings and speeches, actor Kyrre Eikås Ottersen performs a monologue by Torkil Sandsund, taking the audience back to the major dilemmas of the interwar period and the Second World War.

Brochmann served in the Norwegian Parliament from 1933 to 1936 and was a well-known and active politician from Bergen during the interwar years. He strongly warned against Nazism in the lead-up to the Second World War, but during the occupation, he made several statements that were perceived as pro-German.

"I want to tell this story now because it reflects the pacifist’s dilemma in the build-up to war and because there are so many parallels between our time and the years before the Second World War – for instance, the connection between the economy and war. This man was an important voice from Bergen in his time, but history forgot him after the treason verdict," says director Torkil Sandsund, the driving force behind Fjaler turnéteater.

Language

Performed in Norwegian

Contributors

• Torkil Sandsund dramatisation, direction

• Marianne Solberg dramaturgy

• Kyrre Eikås Ottersen cast

• Frida Noris Kveane prompts, technical crew

• Tour with Folkeakademiet Sogn og Fjordane