Breaking the Pot

Our development of this manuscript took place from January 2005 until the opening night April 17, 2006. The work was carried out through K. Hoff’s three stays in Blantyre, lasting 4-5 weeks each time; March–April 05, Nov. 05 – and March-April 06. – and in-between these intensive work-periods; through a high-frequency e-mail-correspondence, with exchanges of scenes and suggestions. This manuscript is the complete text-adaptation, but not a rendering of the text of the play as it was performed. This text-mass was cut and inter-woven with the chorus / the dancers, with their participation in the staging of the play. Our intention was that a full text-adaptation should be made available to the students and readers of Ibsen’s play(s) in Malawi – a version which then in turn, through the staging-process, would be open for cuts, changes and / or supplement expressions, if so be desired.

The performance was first played a week in Blantyre, and then taken on an extensive tour throughout Malawi - and later performed abroad at theatre festivals in South-Africa.