What happens when one morning brings the discovery that the entire world has been abandoned, and everyone else has mysteriously died? An invisible, impenetrable wall turns the situation into a prison. This is the frightening scenario at the heart of Marlen Haushofer’s cult classic The Wall.
The novel’s protagonist finds herself alone in a small cabin in the Alps and must suddenly survive on her own, with only a dog, a cat and a cow for company. The unnamed woman learns to cultivate the land, hunt and find food in nature, gradually discovering a life defined by complete isolation. Life before the catastrophe becomes increasingly distant, while loneliness and the new existence take centre stage.
Marlen Haushofer was one of Austria’s leading female authors, and her 1963 novel The Wall is regarded as a modern classic. The Wall premieres at Rogaland Teater on 2 December.
Actor Ragnhild Arnestad Mønnes and director Aase Victoria Haugane Meirik meet Stine Honoré, head of the Kielland Centre, for a conversation about the production and the novel.
