Strong Wind – Smock Alley Theatre – Review

Dates: 6 – 31 May 2025 @ 8pm, 31 May @ 3pm – Boys’ School

Jon Olav Fosse is a Norwegian author, translator, and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.” The playwright is rarely performed in Ireland, so this production by American theatre company Scena Theatre is an opportunity to see his work on stage.

This production is built on shifting sands, as we see a surreal story play out on stage. The facts are unclear and seem to change as the play progresses. We see an older male protagonist who has been travelling for a long time. He returns home one day to discover his wife is living with another man.

There are three actors on stage, with our main protagonist called ‘The Man’ (Stas Wronka), along with his wife, ‘The Woman’ (Sissel Bakken), and her lover, ‘The Young Man’ (Robert Sheire). The interaction between the three is disjointed, almost like The Man is not really there and cannot affect his environment. The Young Man laughs at his suggestions and teases him, while The Woman is more stern. There is logic in all that is said, but it is twisted and dreamlike.

It is always interesting to see work on stage from a playwright such as Fosse. While he is not a household name, as a Nobel Prize winner, his reputation precedes him. It is not an easy night at the theatre. The play is a distant and elusive work that will frustrate as much as it fascinates the viewer. It does, however, leave some haunting elements with you that will remain long after you leave the theatre.

Warnings: Contains sexual content
WRITTEN BY Jon Fosse
TRANSLATED BY Mai-Brit Akerholt