We’ll see to what extent we can tighten the elastic

Knutsen & Ludvigsen will live in Bergen. – We’ll make it ours, says Tormod Loveold.

He and Christian Berg Gaten are in the middle of planning a new performance, Theatrical Party, at the Ole Bull Stage from September.

The starting point is the songs of Gustav Lorentzen and Øystein Dolmen, pseudonym Knutsen & Ludvigsen. Kato Adland is the music official.

It is about continuing a cultural legacy while adding our own “madness”. Tormod and I are good at joking together, and I love children’s theater. Kids aren’t taught to be polite, so we can expect anything, Gaten says.

Lots of activity

Gustav Lorentzen was born in Bergen and lived here most of his life. In 2010, he died of cardiac arrest during a race to steer in Bloomsterdalen, 62.

Son Frederick manages the father’s interests and rights – including about 200 songs – on behalf of his mother, Alice, and thus works closely with Austin Dolmen.

This has led to a lot of activity on the Knutsen & Ludvigsen front, both locally and nationally.

Here are some examples:

• DNS staged “Knutsen & Ludvigsen in Theatre” in the fall of 2011 with Frode Winther and Pål Rønning in the title roles.
• The feature film “Knutsen & Ludvigsen + the Terrible Rasputin” came out in 2015 and was seen by 215,000 in cinemas.
• Fyllingsdalen Theater presented the same movie script on stage in 2017 with Håkon Moe and Tor Halvor Halvorsen in the title roles.
• The feature film “Knutsen & Ludvigsen 2 – The Big Animal” was shown in the fall of 2020, amid the epidemic, and was watched by 240,000 in cinemas (the third most watched movie of that year).
• Last year came Knutsen & Ludvigsen’s 50th anniversary tribute album. The contestant (DumDum Boys) and Silja Sol sang among others.

For those of us in the family, it’s great that so much is happening in the world of Knutsen & Ludvigsen in different places and scenes, says Friedrich Lorentzen.

Not for commercial reasons

The new performance on Ole Bull Scene is based on a script written for the stage in Trondheim, with sketches and music by Knutsen and Ludvigsen themselves in their heyday.

– But the show in Bergen must get better, says Lorentzen and laughs.

He’s worried that whatever they say yes has to maintain quality goals.

– It must be done correctly and with commitment. Movies got into the anarchist with this universe, but personally I’m weaker than theater and live context – the fact that songs can live in direct contact with the audience.

– Is there a lot of money can be earned?

– Not right. But that’s not something the family does for business reasons anyway. The work that my dad did is something we are really proud of. It’s a cultural heritage that we want to live on—and therefore so essential with movies, theater, and everything else, says Lorentzen.

Singing to Grandpa’s Songs

His daughter Helena, 13, does not remember her grandfather, but she is very proud of what he has accomplished.

– He made a lot of fun things. Helena says I know a lot of songs and I sing to them all the time.

She wants to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps.

– I’m a little crazy about music, so I want to work with music. But we’ll see, I’m only 13 years old.

Bjarte Hjelmeland is a co-producer through Over Norge, which is also presenting Jan Eggum’s “A night last” on the Forum Stage this fall.

He wants to make the Knutsen & Ludvigsen show in 2022.

– With our sense of humor and with references that children recognize. The songs range from very strong pop hits to absurd ones that spark the imagination. Perhaps we try to capture the reckless rudeness of Dolmen and Lorentzen that made my generation sit up and think, “Are they allowed to do that?” , says Helmeland.

Believe in the fall of the ordinary theater

He hopes and believes that fall 2022 will be the first regular theatrical season in Norway in three years.

We’ve been scammed a few times in recent years, all of them, not least the public buying tickets for things that have been canceled or moved with all the stress they cause. Hjelmeland points out that ticket sales for the Eggum musical at least indicate that people are on their way back to us.

Turmod Lovefold is also hoping this works out, so they can play throughout the fall.

– Dolmen wrote to us that the drawings are just a starting point, and that we should make the materials our own. Somehow we’ll have a concert as they are, but we’ll also try to stretch the rubber band as much as possible. and we will.