TIME WITHOUT BOOKS

Watch the documentary EXIL on nrk.no - in which "The time without books" and the background to the creation of the play play an important role.

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In a country that used to be under dictatorship, the democracy is back, but the after-effects are still ravaging the bodies of the population. What can you tell? What is best to keep quiet about? Who has the right to ask, and is it okay not to answer? How does one live with such a national trauma?

There is a shopping center that used to be a prison and a new generation that has no idea about it. There are parents who want to give their children a happy life without agreeing how, and there are children who want to understand why their parents never talk about how they really feel.

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BACKROUND

"South America's torture chamber", was a nickname for Uruguay during the period of the dictatorship, which lasted from 1973 to 1985. This history, of a small country in South America with only 3.5 million inhabitants, it the starting point of "Time without Books".

During that time, about 20% of Uruguayans were imprisoned, and about 10% went into exile in other parts of the world. After the democracy was restored, Uruguay has become one of the most modern and liberal countries in South America. But 35 years after the dark days of the dictatorship, the nation must realize that there is little or no knowledge of what happened.​​

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No one put the country's recent history a part of the school curriculum, and people can choose to talk about their experiences or remain silent. Did they have an obligation to speak? Do you need someone to say I want to listen, to start talking?

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So how do we learn about our history? What about our shared history as a nation? Who are the tellers of the story – and for what purpose do we pass the story on to future generations? Having experienced trauma, shame and fear, it can be easy to understand that one chooses to remain silent. "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

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RESEARCH AND WRITING PROSESS​

Teigen's research began with in-depth interviews with director Cecilia Caballero Jeske and her father. She also watched documentaries and feature films, read academic works, as well as articles, novels and blogs. Some of the people she wanted to interview did not want to talk about the difficult period. Of course she could understand: Why unback difficult memories? Why not think about the future instead? 

As a feminist, it was important for Teigen to shed light on women's experiences. Too little is heard about the mother figure who just waits and waits, the ones who make the wheels go round and who nevertheless give birth to children and take care of all our basic needs.

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This has become a story about what to remember and what to forget, how and why. With the audience as witness, the people we meet struggle to find their place in a story that is bigger than themselves. How do we come together as individuals when the trauma of an entire nation lies in between, and when is your story not just yours, but your child's? Hopefully, the text brings out a theater style where care and concern for the audience is a key to how it is performed.

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PREMIERE

The world premiere of "Time without Books" took place at Teatro Solis in the capital Montevideo in May 2018. It was directed by Cecilia Caballero Jeske and was shown continuously for a year and a half, and was awarded the Florencio prize for best ensemble 2018. 

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Right after the premiere, we were able to meet forty young teenagers from the audience. Lene Therese Teigen tells that she was shocked to hear that only two of the forty people knew that one of the most exclusive malls in Montevideo used to be a prison from 1910 through the 70s and 80s.

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Watch the documentary about the creation of the project