What if a befriended couple rang your doorbell one evening to ask for shelter? Fear is in their eyes. They can’t say what they’re afraid of. You think it’s a strange situation, but they’re friends and your daughter’s old room is vacant. So you offer them shelter.

The next day, your daughter shows up unexpectedly. She’s in her mid-thirties and her umpteenth relationship has just failed. A problem child who will not grow up. She wants to move in with you again, but realizes her room is occupied by your friends. What do you do when your daughter demands her room back? Will you give your own child priority over your friends?

This is the dilemma that Tobias and Agnes are facing in the tragicomedy A delicate balance by Edward Albee (1928-2016). Everyone knows what rights and duties are. But how do we handle them when it really matters? Then it turns out that deep down, people are marked by unreasonable territoriality.

In razor-sharp dialogues, Albee shows how an already delicate balance between two people who are dependent on each other can be put under great pressure.  The ever-increasing emotional temperature in their discussions exposes fears and desires, needs and frustrations.

A delicate balance is a project within ITA-2, the platform for the development of directorial talent. Maren E. Bjørseth previously directed A bride in the morning (in collaboration with Frascati Producties) and Emilia Galotti (in collaboration with Toneelschuur Producties).