Good atmosphere and high tempo in Rybak's magic world - a review of Alexander Rybak's Trolle musical on nrk.no, 29.11.2019

Good atmosphere and high tempo in Rybak's magic world

Alexander Rybak's musical "Trolle and the Magic Fiddle" is a rock opera for children. It tries a lot, achieves a good part of it, and delivers full thrust on the show.

The magic fiddle is such that everyone who hears must obey. 

The Hulder King (Stig-Werner Moe) uses it to lure new wives when he needs it.

By Karen Frøsland Nystøyl Theater critic | Published on nrk.no | 29.11.2019 | Photos: Dag Jenssen

Translated by Mónika Menyhért (who is not native either in Norwegian or in English language, so any correction is welcomed and appreciated) 

Alexander Rybak became almost a hero when he won Eurovision in 2009 with the song "Fairytale". The talented violinist is capable of forging while the success-iron is hot, and has been able to cultivate the career "Fairytale" gave him over the last ten years.

In 2015 Rybak published the children's book "Trolle and the magic fiddle" with accompanying audiobook and specially composed music. Now the book has become a musical at Kilden Teater in Kristiansand.

Trolle (Alexander Rybak) bewitches the villagers with his fiddle play.

"Which Witch" for kids

It has become a lavish production. The performance of Trolle is a musical that is close to the rock opera in terms of expression - including everyting that comes with it like light, stage smoke and other effects. The result is a family performance somewhere in between "Fairytale" and "Which Witch" (a novel with some similar thread - translator's note). A little glitter from the old Eurosong glory follows Rybak wherever he goes and gives the show a sprinkle of glamor. The first song clearly hints at "Fairytale"'s familiar phrases, and the audience has got the Rybak show they expect.

Huldra dancing in the swamp. After a human lifetime's sleep,
the Hulder King wakes up to find a new wife to marry.
 The wife becomes a guard among the others in the swamp.

But Alexander Rybak is no actor. He's a lot different, but not exactly that. And that was the jumping off point of the show: Would he be in the role or not? The answer is neither yes nor no. In body language, Rybak has kept the facts he has as an artist. At the same time, face and expression show something more than just the entertainer. Addressing the audience, he gradually leaves the character Trolle along the way.

The role design seems not quite consistent. Rybak plays a lonely and outcast troll in the forest. But when he meets Alva, who is to become his friend, he is cool, dismissive and upstairs. As if he had a smartphone in his back pocket. You don't say "lolz" in the forest.

It is probably a challenge to do the lead role in a piece where the script and music are written by one himself. But who else could have played Trolle? The musical is written by, to and for Rybak himself.

"Trolle and the Magic Fiddle" is a show about the friendship
 that develops between Trolle (Alexander Rybak) and Alva (Ingeborg Walther).
 The friendship eventually becomes stronger than the fiddle's power.

The fear of the stranger

In the book, tailless Trolle finds a magic violin. The violin belongs to the Hulder King, who once in each human lifetime rises from his sleep in Hulder Swamp to get a new wife. He lures his wife with this fiddle. The Mayor's daughter Alva becomes a key in the story as she becomes both Trolle's friend and the Hulder King's chosen.

At Kilden Teater they have kneaded the book well to a stage material. It has become a story of xenophobia and courage, and less a tale of Trolle's otherness. The first part of the show establishes people's fear of the forest and the unknown, as well as the friendship between Trolle and Alva. Only in the second part is the Hulder King's cunning plan introduced.

Stig-Werner Moe makes a fabulous Hulder King
in "Trolle and the Magic Fiddle" at the Kilden Theater
 in Kristiansand, our reviewer thinks.

Solid show

Although "Trolle and the Magic Fiddle" is characterized by the fact that some logical threads are not quite well connected, this is still a performance one experiences as  a pretty much solid  one.

Ingeborg Walther carries a lot in the role of Alva, and the children who participate in the show have an infectious and happy energy. Stig-Werner Moe plays a brilliant role as the Hulder King, and also the two guards (Lars Helge Lesteberg Throndsen and Ola Magnus Gjermshus) have something nice going on in the scenes where they guard the village. The choreography sits well and the musical is well taken care of by a seven-man orchestra.  

The children in the show have an infectious and happy energy.

There is a good atmosphere and high tempo in Rybak's magic world. And when the whole ensemble puts all the cloths to make a rock party in the fairytale forest, they deliver what the show the audience wants.

Read all reviews about the musicals ➡HERE