Repertoire 2009-2010
A diverse program on three stages
The Big Stage
The Sound of Music
The musical loved by the whole world needs no introduction. It was premiered in the spring and is a success both critically and commercially. The young Valgerður Guðnadóttir has received critical acclaim as a vibrant and spirited Maria, while the innocent and playful children of the Von Trapp family ensure an evening of musical entertainment for the entire family.
Author: Rogers/Hammerstein
Director: Þórhallur Sigurðsson
Information on the production in Icelandic
Can't Pay! Won't Pay!
The hilarious farce by Dario Fo probably hasn't been more relevant since the day it was premiered. The recent financial depression is here perfectly sculpted in a classic comedy about 100% discounts, gender benders, and endemic fertility. Inflation is spinning out of control, and so too are the amorous activities of the town!
This is the third production of the play in professional theatre in Iceland, now under the direction experienced actor and comic Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson.
Author: Dario Fo
Set Design: Stígur Steinþórsson
Director: Þröstur Leó Gunnarsson
Premiere: May 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
August: Osage County
The Reykjavik City Theatre is proud to be the first Icelandic theatre to produce “August,” a brand new work from the ground-breaking pen of Tracy Letts. Originally produced by he Steppenwolf Theatre in NYC, “August” was immediately hailed by critics as the first classic of the 21st century. It takes as its subject matter the destructive powers of drug and alcohol addiction in a contemporary family. Where is the redemption, indeed, if there is any to be found?
“August” and Tracy Letts have been compared to the best of Neil Simon and Tennesee Williams, and to unforgettable works of drama such as “The Glass Menagerie” and “Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf?”
The director, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, has been a successful Icelandic actor for over a decade. His diverse stage experience recently ensured that his refreshingly original version of Dagur Vonar was a critical and commercial success.
Author: Tracy Letts
Director: Hilmir Snær Guðnason
Music: KK
Set Design: Börkur Jónsson
Premiere: October 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Faust
Here is a new production by Reykjavík City Theatre and the successfully radical Vesturport Theatre. This time, it's none other than “Faust,” Goethe's heart-wrenching epic tale about the dualism of good and evil, religion and faith, and the struggle to escape the immortal conflict between inner aspiration and outer necessity. “Faust” features yet another collaboration by the formidable Gísli Örn Garðarsson and the needs-no-introduction Nick Cave (having previously worked together on “Woyzeck” and “Metamorphosis”). Not to be missed!
Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Director: Gísli Örn Garðarsson
Music: Nick Cave
Set Design: Finnur Arnar Arnarson
Premiere: December 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Gauragangur (What a Mess!)
“What a Mess” is perhaps the best known of Icelandic musicals. Written by Iceland's favorite playwright, Ólafur Haukur Símonarson, and directed by the Artistic Director of the Reykjavik City Theatre, Magnús Geir Þórðarson, this collaboration follows the sold-out success of Mr. Simonarson's colorful comedy “The Neighbors in the House.”
Author: Ólafur Haukur Símonarson
Director: Magnús Geir Þórðarson
Premiere: March 2010
Information on the production in Icelandic
Romeo & Juliet, a Trilogy
Nothing less than a trilogy is on offer here for the most rigorously demanding theatre acumen: Shakespeare's legendary classic produced as a trilogy of contrasting explorations. Celebrated Lithuanian director Oscaras Korzinovas opens the show, followed by our own Gísli Örn Garðarson, whose physically dynamic production put Vesturport Theatre on the international map, capped by Thorleifur Arnarsson, whose production premiered to acclaimed critical success in Switzerland in May, 2009.
Information on the production in Icelandic
A Flea in Her Ear
Written at the height of Belle Époque, here comes Georges Feydeau´s infamous farce “A Flea in Her Ear.” Featuring all the classical elements of bedroom entanglements, crossed purposes, confusing look-alikes, and breathless chases, this unique adaptation is now in its third year running. It won the Audience Choice Award at Gríman, The Icelandic Theatre Awards, in 2007.
Author: Georges Feydeau
Director: María Sigurðardóttir
Information on the production in Icelandic
The New Stage
Walworth Farce
Full of unexpected twists and turns, Walworth Farce is a darkly ironic tragi-comedy about isolation, oppression and deceit. An original play by sensational Irish playwright Enda Walsh. His 1996 play Disco Pigs used unprecedented forms of language and dramatical structure, garnering international attention and earning Edna a comparison to Irish literary greats.
Author: Enda Walsh
Director: Jón Páll Eyjólfsson
Set Design: Ilmur Stefánsdóttir
Information on the production in Icelandic
Rautt brennur fyrir (Red brightly burns)
We are dedicated to fostering new talent and producing plays with promise. Here is a new play by the young and precocious Heidar Sumarlidason about two couples and how their lives interact with serious consequences.
Author: Heiðar Sumarliðason
Set Design: Finnur Arnar Arnarson
Director: Kristín Eysteinsdóttir
Premeire: November 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Góðir Íslendingar (Lord of The Wasteland)
Shortly after Iceland's miscalculated monetary mishap, The Mindgroup trio, Jón Páll, Hallur and Jón Atli authored a scathing and enormously funny project about life, or what was left of it, after the financial collapse. Their brand new Lord of The Wasteland looks at what has changed in the volatile year since You Are Here premiered. How does the populace cope? What's different? Is there a lesson buried under the seemingly mindless madness of am awry fate? Has anyone learned anything at all? This is the here and now of how life intersects with hilarious art.
Information on the production in Icelandic
The Pigeons
An adaptation of David Gieselman's sparkling new whimsical farce. Crazy humor and misdirection weave a plausible tale about contemporary struggles and times in light of greed, money, family and subjugation. Brought to life by Iceland's most promising director, Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, recipient of a Gríman award (the Icelandic Theatre Award) for direction in 2007.
The Pigeons won the best new comedy award in Germany last fall and has been running for a full house in Berlin in recent months. David Gieselman is born in Cologne, Germany and has worked extensively with the renowned Scaubuhne Theatre in Berlin.
Author: David Gieselman
Director: Kristín Eysteinsdóttir
Premiere: March 2010
Information on the production in Icelandic
The Small Stage
Harry & Heimir
A popular new Icelandic comedy based on the legendary cult radio program by three of Iceland's most loved comedians. A surreal tale about private detective Harry and his challenged assistant Heimir as they solve (or not) their latest mystery involving the beautiful and seductive Diana Klein and her missing husband. Inspired by 1940's iconoclastic cinema, Harry and Heimir are too cool, too sauve, and too funny.
The actors and authors have been among at the forefront of Icelandic comedy for almost three decades; their television show, Spaugstofan, has been a hit for over twenty years.
Authors/actors: Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Örn Árnason and Karl Ágúst Úlfsson
Set Design: Snorri Freyr Hilmarsson
Premiere: September 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Bláa Gullið (Blue Gold)
A performance about water in the broadest sense of the word, intended for all children from the age of seven to ninety seven. The stage is a rollicking laboratory in which clowns perform exciting, colorful and wet experiments with water. Pantomime, vaudeville, acrobatics, clowning, and….science?? A good lol for anyone who appreciates the side-splitting silliness of uninhibited fun.
Author: Charlotte Böving
Music: Ragnhildur Gísladóttir
Magic, set design, costumes: The Icelandic Love Corporation
Director: Charlotte Böving
Premiere: October 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Dauðasyndirnar (The Seven Deadly Sins)
A surprising adaptation of Dante's immortal Divine Comedy, as experienced and narrated by four endearing clowns. Nothing is sacred when examining the stuff of life….is paradise an illusion, is reality a journey through purgatory and hell? Anger, love, delusion, triumph. What could be more relevant than a soul search expressed through the tears and laughter of clowns?
The play was an unexpected success last year, and was nominated in six categories at the Icelandic Theatre Awards.
Director: Rafael Bianciotto
Set design and costumes: Helga I. Stefánsdóttir
Run: October and November 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Jesús litli (Little Jesus)
An adventurous adaptation of the Gospel of Matthew about the birth and early life of Jesus, as told by clowns.
Following the success of The Seven Deadly Sins (see above), the four clowns shape-shifted and now happily narrate the story of Jesus Christ, his birth and early life. This promises to be a heart-warming, revelatory, and strikingly original performance.
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Premiere: November 2009
Information on the production in Icelandic
Eilíf óhamingja (The Year of Eternal Unhappiness)
An Icelandic play about the life of people in the banking business after the financial crisis, co-written by Thorleifur Arnarsson and novelist Andri Snær Magnason.
A year before the financial crisis, Thorleifur wrote and directed a play about bankers and the new Vikings of capitalism. Where are they now, after the crash? A riveting look at the consequences of actions and emotions after the inevitable fall.
Thorleifur is a rising star in European theatre. His version of Romeo & Juliet in Switzerland was hailed by critics as a new and exciting interpretation of Shakespeare's classic. Andri Snær Magnason is one of Iceland's best known writers and his latest work, the book and movie Dreamland, is making a deep and lasting impact on the debate about environmental issues in Iceland.
Höfundar: Thorleifur Arnarsson and Andri Snær Magnason
Director: Thorleifur Arnarsson
Set Design: Filippía Elísdóttir
Premiere: March 2010
Information on the production in Icelandic
Þú ert hér (You are Here)
A play ripped straight from the reality of Iceland. The country is in the throes of a financial meltdown. What's it like? Who's to blame? The pranksters in Mindgroup are masters of immediately relevant deconstruction; this is a crucial and much needed dive into the turbulent waters of contemporary news and conflict. After premiering in March this year, the performance quickly bagged five nominations for Griman, the Icelandic Theatre Awards, and has been hailed as a much needed look into the proverbial mirror of the illusive mind.