Johan Ulveson in the role of Shostakovich: "No hero"

9/27/2023, 4:09:50 AM

Highlights: "No Man's Land" is a new film by Swedish director Lars von Trier. The film is based on the novel by the same name. The movie is about a young man's search for the meaning of life in a post-apartheid world. It is directed by Lars Von Trier, who also wrote the book "No Man’s Land" The film was released on September 29, 2014, in the UK and the U.S. It will be released worldwide on October 1, 2015, in Europe.

Acclaimed, blacklisted, progressive and pessimistic. This is how actor Johan Ulveson describes the Soviet star composer Dmitri Shostakovich, whom he portrays in the performance Tidens Larm, which premieres on September 29 at Folkoperan in Stockholm.

"He wasn't a hero, he wasn't a resistance fighter. He participated in the system, but he was always ambivalent about it and faced very difficult choices, and it was not always he chose the right one, says actor Johan Ulveson to SVT Kulturnyheterna.

Accompanied by Folkoperan's orchestra, Lovisa Huledal's vocals and Dmitry Tyapkin's piano, the narrative – once branded the anti-Soviet and the other time the Soviet representative – is carried forward through Johan Ulveson's monologue. A story about an artist working in a dictatorship, characterized by suspicion and paranoia.

Obsessed director

The performance Tidens Larm is based on the British journalist Julian Barnes' book "The Noice of Time" (2016), which is a partly fictional story about one of the foremost composers of the 1900s. Dramatized by Joakim Sten and directed by Shostakovich enthusiast Tobias Theorell.

"When I was about fourteen years old, I listened to him extremely much. But it wasn't until the beginning of the project that I realized how obsessed I must have been, we listened through his symphonies and it was like I recognized almost every beat, says Tobias Theorell to SVT Kulturnyheterna.

Listen to Johan Ulveson talk more about Dmitri Shostakovich in the clip.