Asta Nielsen

ASTA – DIE ASTA

Original titleASTA - DIE ASTA
CategoryPlay
AgegroupAdults
Cast5 total (2 F and 3 M)
Variable cast sizeNo
RepresentationWorldwide representation
LanguagesDanish, English

Set in an empty theatre in Nazi Germany in 1936, Vivian Nielsen explores Asta Nielsen, the world’s first silent movie star. Asta and her sister Johanne are escaping Hitler’s Berlin. Johanne is dying and Asta is fighting to keep her alive. Through Johanne, we experience the extraordinary destiny of her sister. Asta learns to trust her intuition rather than listen to others. She discovers that her greatest intimacy is experienced with the camera lens and begins her exploration into the double nature of acting. She dissolves herself into a myriad of roles, seeing transformation as the true character of her being. This causes conflicts in Asta’s private life. Her two husbands each set out in their own way to capture Asa, but they both fail. Through the eyes of the dying Johanne the play breaks into a highly visual concept, bringing the original silent movie clips on to the stage. It is a platform for reinventing the magic of the expressionism in German film.