The Mask Project of Folkteatern i Gävleborg.
The Mask Project of Folkteatern i Gävleborg
Folkteatern i Gävleborg, a regional theater company in the county of
Gävleborg in Sweden, has for several years co-operated with and been
inspired by theatre traditions of China and India. Thanks to the
manager of Folkteatern, Peter Oskarson, we have been visited by
representatives of two of the most unique theatre traditions in the
world.
In this picture, you can see Cheng Wei Bing of the ZheJiang Kunju Opera
Troupe.
Here, Cheng has recently just painted the mask that I had carved when
the group visited Gävle early October, 2005.
The painted mask visualizes a judge.
This theatre company has been declared a "masterpiece of the oral and
intangible heritage of humanity" by UNESCO.
The co-operation with China was started early in the 1990’s when Peter
Oskarson met the director of the Peking Opera, Ma Ke.
Enclosed, you can see a mask that I carved and that was painted by
Wijanyan and Haridas from the Indian Koodiyattam, a sanskrit theatre of
Kerala, India.
Wijanyan and Haridas and I had a workshop together in Vallsta, Sweden during
the month of July 2005.
This theatre company has also been declared a world cultural heritage
by UNESCO. It was the artistic leader of Folkteatern, Peter Oskarson,
who brought the Koodiyattam Theatre to Gävle and made them share their
theatrical experiences with us.
Please see more of this theatre company’s work on this web site: http://home.planet.nl/~pesch082/Natanakairali/
The masks you can see below are carved by Björn Skjefstad. Several of
them are painted by Mia Eberson, Vallsta, Sweden.
The masks are frequently used in the performances of Folkteatern Gävleborg.
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