Relationships – Distance – Soldiers’ wives

Every time Jesper leaves, he writes letters to all of us in case he doesn’t return. One for his parents, one for each of the kids, and one for me. We keep them in sealed envelopes and hang them with magnets on the fridge. We keep them there until the day we pick him up at the airport. As a ritual, we throw them into a bin when we see him walk through customs. Several times, Jesper has asked me to write a letter of my own. “That is so you can better understand my thought process”, he says. Every time I refuse.

Jesper, Simon and Kenneth are stationed in the Danish army in Afghanistan. They will be there for six months and all communication with their loved ones will take place through unstable telephone lines and bad internet connections. Meanwhile, Anne-Mette, Camilla and Josephine take care of things at home. Distance is the story about how the three marriages are affected by the husband’s’ absence.

The scenario is played out through short stand-alone scenes showing highlights spread out over all six months.

The story focuses on the wives and life at home. There are snapshots of busy days and anxious nights waiting for a phone call that never comes. There is awkward Skype sex and confrontations. There are episodes of meeting new men, sometimes in the form of unwanted sexual advances, other times igniting new sparks of attraction.

Each of the players has a leading role as one of the three wives and a number of supporting roles, including the three soldiers.

Bio:
Morten Jaeger comes from the Danish freeform scene and is an experience Fastaval author who have written 14 scenarions over the years. When it comes to genre and style, Morten is quite diverse, but always enjoys creating strong well-rounded characters.

Hver gang Jesper tager af sted, skriver han afskedsbreve i tilfælde af, at han ikke skulle komme hjem igen. Ét til sine forældre, ét til hvert af børnene og ét til mig. Vi hænger de forseglede kuverter op med magneter på køleskabet. Der hænger de, indtil vi henter ham i lufthavnen, hvor vi rituelt smider dem i skraldespanden, når han kommer ud af tolden. Jesper har flere gange bedt mig skrive et tilsvarende brev, ”så du bedre kan forstå de tanker, jeg går igennem”, siger han. Hver gang har jeg nægtet.

Jesper, Simon og Kenneth er udstationeret i den danske hær i Afghanistan. De skal være der i seks måneder, hvor eneste kontakt med deres pårørende foregår via ustabile telefon- og internetforbindelser. Imens passer Anne-Mette, Camilla og Josephine hjemmene. Afstand er en fortælling om, hvordan de tre ægteskaber påvirkes af soldaternes udstationering.

Scenariet udspilles gennem løsrevne scener fordelt over alle seks måneder.

Fortællingens fokus ligger på hustruerne og livet derhjemme. Det er nedslag i travle hverdage og angstfyldte nætter med venten på et opkald, der aldrig kommer. Det er akavet Skype-sex, hvor der heller ikke er nogen, der kommer. Det er konfrontationer med venindernes fordømmende kommentarer. Det er nye fascinationer, men også uønskede tilnærmelser fra andre mænd.

Spillerne besætter hver en hovedrolle som én af de tre hustruer samt en række biroller, herunder de tre soldater.