London, Mar. 24 (ANI): One of Britain's acclaimed writers for the stage has created a musical show based on the mass murders in Norway committed in 2011 by Anders Breivik.
Playwright David Greig researched the project on Utoya island and in Oslo, visiting the country with the director Ramin Gray three months after the atrocity that saw the lone killer end the lives of 77 people, reports the Guardian.
Called 'The Events', the show examines the limits of human empathy and will be premiered this summer at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, before it travels to London.
Greig and Gray, who already shared an interest in Norway, spoke to many who had lost friends and relatives. As a result, the writer eventually decided not to name Breivik in the show and to relocate the atrocity to his native Scotland.
The story centres on a woman who has to try to decide on her response to the impact of a politically and racially motivated mass murder.
Greig said Breivik's violence was done to an entire society. He said he was most interested in how Norwegian society responded.
Greig said Norway seems to be a poster boy for the liberal west. It represents the Scandinavian social democratic ideal and the attack seemed to be aimed at that, he added.
In proportional terms, said Greig, the Norwegian murders were akin to the 9/11 attacks on New York.
He said Americans responded one way, and Norway responded with democracy. He wanted to look at whether trying to understand a crime of this nature is really the best way.
The writer said he hoped the show would give the audience an experience almost the opposite of a Greek tragedy, which follows a character's thirst for revenge. (ANI)
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