Intenational actors and directors examine The Obama Victory Speech at the Ingmar Bergman International Theatre Festival

June 6 at 2 pm. Main Stage, Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm, Sweden. What is the secret behind Barack Obama’s captivating rhetoric, and what kind of tools does he employ to persuade the world? These are some of the issues that actors and directors from leading theatres across the world will be exploring in the Obama Victory Speech Project, held in conjunction with Dramaten’s Ingmar Bergman International Theatre Festival. The participationg theatres comes from Copenhagen, Berlin, Düsseldorf, London, Krakow, Hamburg, Santiago de Chile, Tel Aviv and Stockholm.

There is no doubt about the fact that his flair for rhetoric and great talent for public speaking have contributed to making Barack Obama the first black president of the United States. Much has been said about how much he owes to Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy and less about the way he chooses to use pauses, words and gestures to underscore his message and win his audience. Staffan Valdemar Holm, director, artistic director of the Ingmar Bergman International Theatre Festival and previous head of the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden has invited some of the leading theatres in the world to initiate an international network. Its purpose is to let directors and actors scrutinize and interpret Obama’s victory speech in Chicago. “Obama’s speech was remarkable in a number of ways. Since it is the task and duty of theatrical institutions to follow-up phenomena we are likely to be influenced by — language use in particular — it goes without saying that any director or actor will be interested in dissecting this speech,” says Staffan Valdemar Holm. Representatives from a number of theatres will participate in a two-day workshop and discuss the speech. The results will be presented to the public – in the form of a kind of current events drama – at the conclusion of the Ingmar Bergman Festival on June 6, 2009. The performance will be documented and sent to the White House. The following will participate: Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen: Das Beckwerk (director), Olaf Johannessen (actor) Deutsches Theater, Berlin: Sabine Auf der Heyde (director), Meike Droste (actor) Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Düsseldorf: Stephan Rottkamp (director), Christiane Roßbach (actor) and Winfried Küppers (actor) National Theatre, London: Charlotte Westenra (director), Sacha Dhawan (actor) Narodowy Stary Teatr, Krakow: Ewelina Marciniak (director), Marta Ojrzynska (actor) Thalia Theater, Hamburg: Max Claessen (director), Asad Schwarz-Msesilamba (actor) Teatro Nacional, Santiago de Chile: Raúl Osorio (director), Nicolás Zárate (actor) Habima, Tel Aviv: Hanan Snir (director), Yigal Sadeh (actor) Dramaten, Stockholm: Staffan Roos (director), Tanja Lorentzon (actor) For more information, please contact Ulrika Nilsdotter Geiger, Press & Publicity +46 703 726 122 Press tickets: ulrika.nilsdotter.geiger@dramaten.se