...I was having a swell Saturday evening. First there was the first official celebration of the centenary for the absolution of the Swedish-Norwegian union ("hooray! and good riddance" being the general mood, har har) - they'd staged a huge show at the Drammen Teater, "they" being mostly people from that theatre I'm going to own one day, and I think it was a success. A couple of minor mistakes, most of which weren't really noticeable unless you were biting your nails and gnarling on your knuckles like I was, terrified something would go horribly wrong during the live, two-hour transmission. I was giggling about the number of Swedish performers portraying Norwegians, but apart from that I think they'd got the spirit of it all. Lots of flags; the way it should be during such a tremendous celebration. They'd mustered up quite a few talented and experienced actors, and I have to say that Hans Marius Hoff Mittet is becoming more and more impressive. If he goes on like this, he will end up being one of our most beloved stage performers; he just has to keep working hard. Never liked Mari Maurstad much, but she's rather good on stage and that's what matters. Jon Eikemo became a very annoying man some years ago but he's good to have around for those intricate "new Norwegian" lines. Sven Nordin (curiously Swedish name he's got there) is always a big presence whenever he enters a stage, and Linn Skåber is great at comedy (should be seeing her in more straight roles soon, there's a goldmine just waiting to be found, I'm sure) and Dennis Storhøi...well, he's Dennis Storhøi, isn't he? (That's rhetorical, by the way, or we'll enter a very long and philosophical discussion.)

Another great event of the evening was Gaygalan (The Gay Awards) on Swedish telly. Great music, and the host, Sissela Kyle, was terrific. She had so many costume changes it nearly put Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep in the shadows. And such funny lines and sketches. As it is in Heaven, the Swedish (and only Scandinavian, therefore also "our") nominee for an Academy Award in a few weeks' time, won over Monster and La mála educación in the category "Best film of the year", and now I'm intrigued. Is it really that good? Has it already been shown over here, or may I expect it to arrive anytime soon?

The greatest thing happening during the awards, though, was when Caroline Krook, the Bishop of Stockholm, won for "Hetero of the year", went up there, received the prize and - get this - said "Jag känner att kyrkan har en väldigt, väldigt stor skuld att betala av på, till er"/"I think that the church owes you a great, great deal". Standing ovations, and well-deserved, too. We've got a couple of those "gay-friendly" bishops as well (I think three out of nine), and they've done quite a lot but there's a long, long way to go, and not just for gays, but for the Sami/Lapps, the gypsies, the divorcees, and - if we go far enough back in time - those labeled "witches". And that's just in this country. I haven't even started with the missionaries, all the other aboriginal peoples around the world, the crusades... There's so much hatred within that religion it should be tried before the Human Rights Court.

My evening ended on a happy note, finally getting to see Richard Roxburgh as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. I managed to miss the entire run of the same film when it was shown repeatedly on some movie channel I used to subscribe to, so this was a nice surprise. The film was quite good, too; Ian Hart was brilliant as Dr Watson.

This weekend I have also managed to watch Mrs Doubtfire (for the umpteenth time), Memphis Belle and Home, the latter being a very disturbing story of a man, played by the magnificent Antony Sher, who locks himself into his house "as a project" and stays there for many weeks, first living off the food that was already present, then looking elsewhere for sustenance. We follow his journey into insanity (or, actually, perhaps that's where it all started) through his own video diary. It's already a classic in my opinion.

Hope you had a nice weekend, too!

Current track: Dimmu Borgir - Puritania

Labels: award shows, dennis storhøi, film, history, Norway, richard roxburgh, theatre, TV