Set design for William Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" directed by Alf Sjöberg at The Royal Dramatic Theatre.
Sivert created the set design for Alf Sjöberg's production of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary and mythical Roman ruler Caius Marcius Coriolanus.
It became a highly acclaimed production when it premiered in the spring of 1970.
Keve Hjelm played the role of Coriolanus.
About the story:
In ancient Rome, after a famine, the people, or plebeians, demand the right to set their own price for the city's grain supply. In response to their protests, the ruling aristocracy, or patricians, grant the plebeians five representatives or tribunes – a decision that challenges the proud patrician soldier Caius Martius, who has nothing but contempt for the lower classes. At this time, war breaks out with a neighboring Italian tribe, the Volsciani (Volscians), led by Martius' great rival, Tullus Aufidius.
In the ensuing battles, the Volscians are defeated and Rome takes the Italian city of Corioles. Thanks to Martius' heroism and recognition of his great deeds, he is given the name Coriolanus.
The people of Rome were discontent because the granaries had been closed during the war against the Volscians. They primarily blamed the general Caius Marcius. When he returns to Rome after defeating the Volscians, he is given the name Coriolanus as an honorific. His mother, Volumnia, convinces him to run for consul, which Coriolanus reluctantly accepts. He is reluctant to ask for the people's support because he believes the people are too easily swayed and prone to their own interests. Nevertheless, Coriolanus wins a seat in the Senate, whereupon the tribunes of the people, Brutus and Sicinius, instigate a revolt against him because he is so haughty and arrogant. Coriolanus reacts with anger and contemptuously condemns the will of the people, likening it to "crows picking eagles." It ends with Coriolanus being banished and exiled from Rome, whereupon he retorts that it is he who banishes Rome. Coriolanus then goes to the Volscians and forms an alliance with his arch-enemy Aufidius to seek revenge and attack Rome. When the Romans learn of this, they send a delegation to appease Coriolanus, but he stands firm. Only when his mother Volumnia and wife Virgilia appeal to him does he relent. When the Volscians learn of his betrayal, they murder him.
There is a filmed version of Coriolanus from 2011, directed and produced by Ralph Fiennes, who also played the lead role as "Caius Martius Coriolanus," with Vanessa Redgrave, among others, in the role of the warmongering "Volumnia," Coriolanus' mother, in one of the key roles.
The performance premiered on April 25, 1970.
READ MORE about the cast at Dramaten
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