Arena Season 1, Episode 235

After the Rehearsal · BBC Four · Friday, December 7

Arena presents the British premiere of Ingmar Bergman 's new film After the Rehearsal. Written and directed by Bergman last year soon after completing Fanny and Alexander, it continues the autobiographical theme. As theatre director Henrik Vogler sits alone on an empty stage after rehearsal Anna, a young actress, suddenly returns to the theatre to talk about her part.... The director is both cynical and affectionate; he is sick and tired of the theatre but still in love with, and fascinated by, his actors. Bergman refers to it as a chamber-work for television, a meditation on life in the theatre and, even more, on what it's like to be old. Earlier this year After the Rehearsal was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was greeted with great acclaim.