A tale of a middle-aged couple in New York toughing through the woes of unemployment. This week Lund student theatre presents The Prisoner of Second Avenue, adding some American flare to Lund’s theatre scene. Lundagård came to check out the cast behind the scenes.
Inside a small room up in the corner of the student housing area Delphi, a group of Swedish students were readying up for a new sort of production – more specifically, more of an American one.
In ordinary every day clothes, Lund student theatre prepared intensively for their big debut on Monday, May 2nd.
“Becoming their characters”
While the room was small, and their props simple compared to the real scene later after May Day, the cast worked at their lines and the challenge of “becoming their characters,” as lead actor Edwin Bywater describes it.
While actors Edwin Bywater and Cathrine Bengtsson walked through their lines, director Pegah Zardoost sat with crossed legs in front with her analytic eye. She paid attention, not only to their lines, but also to cues, gestures and expressions.
“Cathrine,” she said, “You’ve got to show us the caring, loving wife.”
And then she’d throw directions at Bywater, “Edwin, put even more emotion into your lines. It’s Mel’s struggle, even though he tries to tuck away his emotions.”
Light-hearted production
Pegah Zardoost explained why she chose Prisoner of Second Avenue:
“I wanted to do a comedy with an international, more universal blend.”
In contrast to the LUST:s Swedish production, Prisoner of Second Avenue is much more light-hearted. According to Zardoost, Swedish plays tend to be more heavy and reflective.
About a struggling couple
Thus, Prisoner of Second Avenue is different in that it is a comedy about a couple struggling through unemployment, but still highlights the good things in life that wife Edna and the rest of the family try to show Mel.
The play presents the cast with an even greater challenge in its setting. The play takes place in New York, some time in the early twentieth century, highlighting the lives of middle-aged Americans.
“The only thing that’s difficult is the accent”
Interestingly, though, according to director Zardoost, “just two of the actors on the cast have an English-speaking background.”
As actor Linnea Pihl explained, “the only thing that’s difficult is the accent.”
Bywater says he was “surprised about how funny the script actually was.”
“The humor in the play is great,” continues the lead actor.
“Humor, irony, and sarcasm” it seems, will be the key to reaching out to a predominantly Swedish audience.
The cast does not seem to be worried at all about language difficulties. In fact, actor Markus Ahlström commented, “that actually just makes it more fun.”
Tuesday, we’ll be reviewing Prisoner of Second Avenue here on Lundagard.net.
