The Strindberg Club Part Two: August in Sweden

We welcome each other back to The Strindberg Club, or as it is now known, The Lair of the Emerald Peacock. We linger on the name for a little while. Some people claim that peacock feathers bring bad luck. Strindberg was no stranger to bad luck.

We read through our manifesto again. And then our discussions start up once more.

Impressions of Strindberg:

Tug of War. Juxtaposition. Hot and cold. August in Sweden. Warm vs. abrupt. Why are women interested in him? Attracted to the wrong kind of woman - likes the bright spark and then throttles her. Why are women attracted to him – why is he attracted to women? I don’t know him at all. He has become unknown. Crazy, interesting, strange. Linked to his mental state. A Sad man

Ok, let’s put ourselves in his world. You’re in the Black Piglet or Golden Calf. What was it like? What did you hear? What did you see?

‘The toilets hadn’t been cleaned in days. The wine was corked. I placed a bet with my friend that the place would be closed within the year.’

(Please do add your musings using the comments box below)

It is decided that we will create a timeline of Strindberg’s life that interacts with the timelines of the people surrounding him: Siri, Frida, Harriett, the Mad Polish Pianist (as he is fondly known).  Mainly so that we can stop agonising over the where and when and continue to think about the why. We will each take a member of the ‘gang’ and bring back our findings next week.

We move on to sharing ideas for performance.

Using Blast magazine's 'Blast and Bless' as a structure for writing a monologue, Victoria shares the following:

Strindberg

BLAST

curse NATURALISM. the IRONIC concept that it is. Beginning

middle end. LAUGH CRY LOVE HATE curtain falls take your

bow

UNDERMINDS ITSELF

CONVENTIONAL DRAMATIC TIME AND

SPACE

curse MYSOGINY a MAN that HATES WOMEN

hates yet CRAVES ATTENTION wants to be LOVED

believes himself superior

POWER STRUGGLES

SELF DESTROYING letting your insecurities undo what you’ve

achieved

get over yourself INDULGING IN SELF

INDULGENCE

limiting the minds creation due to TECHNOLOGICAL

RESTRICTIONS

CURSE THE SELF never being able to know the truth

We consider recreating the trailer for trashy 90s The First Wives Club replacing Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn with Freda Uhl, Siri von Essen and Harriett Bosse. The three join forces and in white suits sing to the intimidated Strindberg, 'You don't own me, I am not just one of your many toys...'

And with that song lingering in our heads, we leave it there. Until next week.