Ibsen in Tokyo

*****

I understand that many of Ibsen’s plays are well known in Japan and that ever since the first performance of John Gabriel Borkman in 1909 Ibsen has had an influence on Japanese theatre, as well on society in general.

The playwright, theatre director and poet Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was Norwegian, but his works have universal value. He put freedom of expression, protection of the environment, gender equality, human dignity, corruption and use of power on the agenda in a way that gives his plays relevance for us today, in Norway and in Japan.

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome Japanese audiences to the 2010 International Ibsen Festival in Tokyo – a festival that seeks to highlight the relevance of the works of Ibsen for contemporary society today. This year, four theatre companies from Norway, Germany, Vietnam and Japan will perform modern interpretations of An Enemy of the People, A Doll’s House, The Wild Duck and When We Dead Awaken.

Four years ago we commemorated the centennial of Henrik Ibsen’s death by staging the largest Ibsen festival in Norway ever, as well as by supporting performances all over the world. Norway’s National Theatre – which first visited Japan in 1971 – is our foremost producer of Ibsen’s plays and I am especially pleased that this theatre company has been invited to participate in the festival in Tokyo.

I wish you all an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience.

Jonas Gahr Støre
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Oslo, October 2010