In search of scenograhy (1)
Day 12. Long day in the office. Have been reading Swedish theatre histories for many hours today. Often produced by the same or related theatre historians. I cannot keep wondering why there is such a strange lack of scenographic interest in the books. Or: if there is an interest, it can be negative, even mean, and for certain modernist biased. Often the statements where scenography is at stake, to my knowledge (and I have done quite a bit of serious archival digging on the topic), are quite wrong. And why, even in the late 20th century, is the concept of scenography, that was firmly established in the Swedish context in the late 1960's, sometimes completely avoided? No names, no examples here - this is written to describe a general sense of boredom and frustration. It is as if several of the authors of Swedish theatre histories deal with scenography as something that "has to be mentioned", rather than something that is extremely vital and engaging. Naked feet on the floor. This is a call for re-imagining Swedish and Nordic scenography as something creative and critical, or totally different, worthy of some serious dancing...and writing...and re-engagement.