Theatre, 1988

Long Day's Journey into Night

For The Royal Dramatic Theatre's 200th anniversary and 100 years after playwright Eugene O'Neill's birth, Bergman was asked to stage Long Day's Journey into Night.
'Outstanding! World theatre, if anything.'
Ingmar Björkstén, Svenska Dagbladet

Guest performances

Norway, Bergen, Bergen Music and Art Festival, 2-5 June 1988
Some of the Norwegian critics were disappointed, and according to them the Swedish press had been overly praising. The production was 'just four very long hours with solid, down-to-earth, conventional quality theatre'. Others were more than satisfied, and called the performance 'an outstanding theatrical experience'.

Italy, Rome, Teatro Argentina, 31 May-4 June 1989
The performance received the Premio Ubu prize as the best foreign theatre production in Italy and the reviews were foremost positive. Some saw it as a 'surgically objective Protestant approach to a Catholic play'.

France, Paris, Odéon, Festival Théâtre en Europe, 7-11 June 1989
Some reviewers questioned Bergman's use of Peter Stormare as his alter-ego and found the performance's acting conventional and mechanical.

Germany, Hamburg, Theater der Welt festival, 20-21 June 1989
The guest performance was part of the biennial Theater der Welt. Many critics saw connections between Bergman's own family and the Tyrone family drama set on stage. The performance was met with thunderous applause.

Spain, Barcelona, 4-8 October 1989
The critics praised Bergman's direction but complained about the length of the performance.

USA, New York, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), 14-16 June 1991
At BAM the performance was part of a triple bill along with A Doll's House and Miss Julie. The production was called 'a very fresh look at a familiar masterpiece', as well as a disappointing, simplified version of the play with its pared-down décor and 'uneven casting'.

Sources

  • The Ingmar Bergman Archives.
  • Birgitta Steene, Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide, (Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Collaborators

  • Jarl Kulle, James Tyrone
  • Bibi Andersson, Mary Cavan Tyrone
  • Thommy Berggren, Jim Tyrone
  • Peter Stormare, Edmund Tyrone
  • Kicki Bramberg, Cathleen
  • Ulla Åberg, Dramaturgy
  • Tomas Wennerberg, Stage manager
  • Gunilla Palmstierna-Weiss, Costume design
  • Jan-Eric Piper, Sound
  • Hans Åkesson, Lightning
  • Lars Johansson, Lightning technician
  • Daniel Bell, Music
  • Maria Stridh-Johnsson, Make-up and wigs
  • Leif Qviström, Make-up and wigs
  • Katarina Sjöberg, Producer
  • Bengt Wanselius, Projections
  • Ingmar Bergman, Director
  • Jan Bergman, Assistant director
  • Stefan Lundgren, Props
  • Kaj Forsgårdh, Master carpenter
  • Britta Olin, Prompter
  • Karl Ragnar Gierow, Translation song lyrics
  • Sven Barthel, Translation