For six decades, director Ingmar Bergman
has been at the forefront of film and theater; since 1988, the
Brooklyn Academy of Music has been the only American venue for
many of his acclaimed theatrical productions.
When Bergman’s production of Friedrich von Schiller’s play "Maria
Stuart" touches down at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
for five performances June 12-16, it will be the 10th time BAM
has played host to a Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden production.
Luckily for us, Bergman has continued to be a force in the theater
nearly 20 years after directing his last feature film.
The play is Schiller’s inventive 1800 re-imagining of a power
struggle between two queens of England: the Catholic Mary, Queen
of Scots and the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I. For his staging,
Bergman turned to two of the preeminent actresses in all of Sweden,
if not the world. Lena Endre – who most recently distinguished
herself with an extraordinary, nakedly honest portrayal of a
woman cheating on her husband in Liv Ullmann’s film "Faithless"
– plays Elizabeth; while Pernilla August – whose performance
as the tortured mother in Ullmann’s adaptation of Bergman’s "Private
Confessions" is as indelible as Ullmann’s own great acting
in Bergman films – plays Mary.
Both actresses have worked with Bergman before, onstage and onscreen.
Speaking exclusively with GO Brooklyn from their homes in Sweden,
Endre and August made clear that working with Bergman was a rare
privilege and even rarer pleasure.
"He’s really my biggest teacher," says Endre. "He
has such a love for the actors and the stage, it’s really where
his heart belongs." August agrees: "He’s always listening
… he knows what you’re thinking and doing at all times."
August, who just finished performing under Bergman’s direction
in Sweden, in Ibsen’s "Ghosts," finds his technique
unique. "He gives me so much space," she explains.
"’Maria Stuart’ is a very big play, very exact and dramatic,
but ’Ghosts’ is more interiorized. I have a feeling that when
I’m working with Ingmar he’s pushing my limits, helping me do
things I thought I couldn’t do."
For Endre, the experience of working with Bergman cannot be duplicated
by anyone else. "He’s involved with absolutely everything
– costumes, sets, makeup – but his main focus is on the actors,"
she says. "He creates such an atmosphere of concentration
around each scene, which is the most important thing. He makes
everybody work for the same goal all the time, and makes everyone
feel special."
Of course, it’s not simply a love fest; Bergman demands his actors
be as demanding as is he. August admits that his style of directing
Schiller’s play caught her off guard initially. "You can
really feel Schiller’s German language, even though we were playing
it in Swedish," she explains. "But Ingmar wanted to
play it really fast, like the Germans do, even though I’m really
slow, which most Swedish actors are. So, it was directed very
fast – he always talked about a ’tempo furioso’ – and soon we
were attuned to his rhythm."
Endre discussed how Bergman made the play his own. "Schiller’s
known to be quite heavy and, some people would even say, boring,"
she says with a laugh. "It’s really, really heavy duty to
work on Schiller. But the first time I read the play, I loved
it, since the Swedish translation was so beautiful. Then, I was
so surprised that Bergman cut out everything he thought unnecessary.
It’s cut down from four hours to two hours. it’s quick and action-filled,
but it’s ’emotional action.’ He found all the shortcuts and focused
on those."
In two hours of stage time, the two actresses rarely interact.
"We only have this one scene together that Schiller imagined,
because the two queens never met in real life," Endre explains.
"When Pernilla’s acting, she’s up front and I’m at the back
of the stage, sitting or milling around." Needless to say,
that pivotal scene is the emotional crux of the evening.
Both actresses have acted in several Bergman productions at BAM,
and look forward to returning. "I love that place!"
Endre exclaims. "But the first time we played BAM I was
shocked: to see all these people with the headphones on was a
strange sight, and to hear the simultaneous translation also
is strange. European audiences are quiet and polite and sit still;
in America, they get up and leave, and you think, ’Oh God, they
hate us!’ But then they come back!"
August concurs, saying, "It’s so interesting to come back
to Brooklyn and see what’s happening in that part of the city."
The master director turns 85 this summer, but neither woman believes
he will ever completely stop working, even if he has curtailed
some activities. "We are used to the fact that he’s still
working and that he’s still here [in Sweden]," August says.
"He’s doing radio plays, which is easier to do. And he’s
writing, too, and doing a television work as well. But you never
know with him! One day he really is going to stop!"
Endre obviously hopes that won’t be for awhile. "He’s with
us 100 percent, always," she says. "He’s the director
I trust most in the world, because he will never leave you alone.
It’s such a gift to be able to work with him."
The Royal Dramatic Theatre of Sweden’s
production of "Maria Stuart" plays at the BAM Opera
House June 12-15 at 7:30 pm and June 16 at 3 pm. "Maria
Stuart" is performed in Swedish with simultaneous English
translation. Tickets are $25, $45 and $65. For more information,
call (718) 636-4100 or visit the Web site at www.bam.org.
