Det Norske Teatret
Encyclopedia
Det Norske Teatret is a theatre
in Oslo
. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg
and Edvard Drabløs
. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, Ervingen by Ivar Aasen
and Rationelt Fjøsstell by Hulda Garborg. Its first official performance was Ludvig Holberg
's comedy Jeppe på berget, with Haakon VII of Norway
and the prime minister of Norway among the spectators. Hulda Garborg was the first board manager, and Rasmus Rasmussen was the first theatre director. The theatre primarily performs plays written in or translated into Nynorsk
.
The theatre has three stages, and about 12–15 productions per year, plus guest plays. Five of Jon Fosse
's plays saw their first productions on Det Norske Teatret: Nokon kjem til å komme (1996), Ein sommars dag (1999), Vakkert (2001), 3ogtosaman (2001) and Rambuku (2006).
The theatre was awarded Spellemannprisen
in 1979 for the musical play Så lenge skuta kan gå.
was one of the founders, and served as a director from 1915 to 1916, and later also from 1950 to 1951. Amund Rydland
, who had been with the theatre from the start, was the director from 1916 to 1922. After him Ingjald Haaland
served as theatre director for eleven years, from 1922 to 1933. Hans Jacob Nilsen
was theatre director from 1933 to 1934, and from 1946 to 1950. The writer Oskar Braaten
had earlier worked as a consultant for the theatre, and served as its director from 1934 to 1936. The actor Knut Hergel
was director from 1936 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1946. His period was interrupted by Nasjonal Samling's Cally Monrad
from 1942 to 1945, during the German occupation of Norway. This forced movement by the nazis was answered with a total boycott by the public. The jurist
Ole Barman
was theatre director 1951–1953, and Nils Sletbak
, also jurist, 1953–1961. Dramaturg and writer Tormod Skagestad
served two periods, from 1961 to 1965, and from 1976 to 1979. Actor and instructor Svein Erik Brodal
was the theatre's director from 1975 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 1990. Instructor Otto Homlung
was director from 1990 to 1997. Actor and dramatist Vidar Sandem
has been theatre director from 1997.
Ivar Aasen
's Ervingen and Hulda Garborg's Rationelt fjøsstell were played on the theatre's first touring day, in Kristiansand
2 January 1913. At this occasion also a prologue written by Anders Hovden
was read. Olav Hoprekstad
's Bjørnefjell was played the next day in Kristiansand. Ludvig Holberg
's Jeppe på Berget was played in Volda
in February, and later at the official opening in Bondeungdomslaget's assembly hall in Bøndernes Hus in Kristiania
6 October 1913. At this official opening, President of the Storting Jørgen Løvland
, prime minister
Gunnar Knudsen
, the ministers Bryggesaa, Castberg, Abrahamsen, Keilhau and Urbye, President of the Odelsting Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
, and King of Norway, Haakon VII
were present. "Jeppe" was played by the theatre's director Rasmus Rasmussen.
The next day Oskar Braaten
's Stor-Anders was played. In November 1913 the theatre played Friarar by Hoprekstad, and two plays by Gustaf af Geijerstam
, Lars-Anders and Jan-Anders.
1914
In 1914 the theatre played Molière
's comedy Arme Jørgen (George Dandin), Arne Garborg
's Læraren, Oskar Braaten's Ungen (in Stavanger
), Sigurd Eldegard's Gamlelandet, and Hulda Garborg's Tyrihans.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg
Hulda Garborg
Hulda Garborg was a Norwegian writer, novelist, playwright, poet, folk dancer, and theatre instructor...
and Edvard Drabløs
Edvard Drabløs
Edvard Drabløs was a Norwegian actor and theatre director.He was born in Sykkylven. He worked most of his life at Det Norske Teatret, from 1912. He was the director of this theatre from 1915 to 1916 and 1950 to 1951. He also appeared briefly in films.He was proclaimed Knight, First Class of the...
. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, Ervingen by Ivar Aasen
Ivar Aasen
Ivar Andreas Aasen was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright and poet.-Background:...
and Rationelt Fjøsstell by Hulda Garborg. Its first official performance was Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...
's comedy Jeppe på berget, with Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
and the prime minister of Norway among the spectators. Hulda Garborg was the first board manager, and Rasmus Rasmussen was the first theatre director. The theatre primarily performs plays written in or translated into Nynorsk
Nynorsk
Nynorsk or New Norwegian is one of two official written standards for the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. The standard language was created by Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, to provide a Norwegian alternative to the Danish language which was commonly written in Norway at the...
.
The theatre has three stages, and about 12–15 productions per year, plus guest plays. Five of Jon Fosse
Jon Fosse
Jon Fosse is a Norwegian author and dramatist.Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway and currently lives in Bergen. He debuted in 1983 with the novel Raudt, svart . His first play, Og aldri skal vi skiljast, was performed and published in 1994. Jon Fosse has written novels, short stories, poetry,...
's plays saw their first productions on Det Norske Teatret: Nokon kjem til å komme (1996), Ein sommars dag (1999), Vakkert (2001), 3ogtosaman (2001) and Rambuku (2006).
The theatre was awarded Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen
Spellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
in 1979 for the musical play Så lenge skuta kan gå.
Theatre directors
Actor and singer Rasmus Rasmussen was the theatre's first director, from 1912 to 1915. Edvard DrabløsEdvard Drabløs
Edvard Drabløs was a Norwegian actor and theatre director.He was born in Sykkylven. He worked most of his life at Det Norske Teatret, from 1912. He was the director of this theatre from 1915 to 1916 and 1950 to 1951. He also appeared briefly in films.He was proclaimed Knight, First Class of the...
was one of the founders, and served as a director from 1915 to 1916, and later also from 1950 to 1951. Amund Rydland
Amund Rydland
Amund Rydland was a Norwegian actor and theatre director.He made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1913, and served as the theatre's director from 1916 to 1922. He was best known for his comedy characters.-References:...
, who had been with the theatre from the start, was the director from 1916 to 1922. After him Ingjald Haaland
Ingjald Haaland
Ingjald Haaland was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. He was born in Fusa.He made his stage debut at Dore Lavik's touring theatre in 1908. He was a member of the ensemble at Det Norske Teatret from its start in 1913, and served as theatre director from 1922 to 1933. He also played in...
served as theatre director for eleven years, from 1922 to 1933. Hans Jacob Nilsen
Hans Jacob Nilsen
Hans Jacob Nilsen was a Norwegian actor, theatre director and film director. He was a theatre director at Den Nationale Scene, at Folketeatret, and for two separate periods at Det Norske Teatret....
was theatre director from 1933 to 1934, and from 1946 to 1950. The writer Oskar Braaten
Oskar Braaten
Oskar Braaten was a Norwegian novelist and playwright.-Biography:Oskar Alexander Braaten was born in Sagene, a borough of the city of Oslo. Sagene was one of Norway's oldest industrial areas dating to the mid-19th century. Oskar Braaten attended school in Sagene until he was 15 years old...
had earlier worked as a consultant for the theatre, and served as its director from 1934 to 1936. The actor Knut Hergel
Knut Hergel
Knut Hergel was a Norwegian actor and theatre director.Hergel was actor at Stavanger Theater from 1924 to 1926, and at the theatre in Trondheim from 1926 to 1927. He was employed as stage producer at Det Nye Teater from 1928 to 1935...
was director from 1936 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1946. His period was interrupted by Nasjonal Samling's Cally Monrad
Cally Monrad
Cally Monrad was a Norwegian singer, actress and poet. She was particularly known as a concert and opera singer. She was a member of the Nazi party Nasjonal Samling, and theatre director at Det Norske Teatret from 1942 to 1945, during the German occupation of Norway. She was sentenced to one year...
from 1942 to 1945, during the German occupation of Norway. This forced movement by the nazis was answered with a total boycott by the public. The jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
Ole Barman
Ole Barman
Ole Gregor Liljedahl Barman was a Norwegian jurist, novelist, short story writer, playwright and theatre director.Among his novels are Fast i fjellet from 1930 and Ein mann gjekk heim from 1933. He published the short story collections Han Kristafor-Knut og andre karar in 1927, Sjørop in 1928,...
was theatre director 1951–1953, and Nils Sletbak
Nils Sletbak
Nils Arne Sletbak was a Norwegian jurist and theatre director.He was an active proponent for Nynorsk culture and language. He was chairman of the board of Det Norske Teatret from 1932 to 1935, chairman of the organization Bondeungdomslaget in Oslo, and contributor to the newspaper Den 17de Mai...
, also jurist, 1953–1961. Dramaturg and writer Tormod Skagestad
Tormod Skagestad
Tormod Skagestad was a Norwegian poet, novelist, playwright, actor and theatre director.-Biography:Tormod Skagestad was born in Krødsherad, Buskerud County, Norway. Skagestad grew up in a rich cultural environment. His father was a teacher and sexton of the village, his mother was the organist...
served two periods, from 1961 to 1965, and from 1976 to 1979. Actor and instructor Svein Erik Brodal
Svein Erik Brodal
Svein Erik Brodal is a Norwegian actor, theatre director, poet, novelist and politician. He made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1960, and served as theatre director from 1979 to 1990. He was a deputy representative to the Parliament from 1997 to 2001.-References:...
was the theatre's director from 1975 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 1990. Instructor Otto Homlung
Otto Homlung
Otto Homlung is a Norwegian stage producer and theatre director.He worked as stage instructor at Den Nationale Scene from 1971 to 1973, and later as a freelance instructor for several Norwegian theatres. He was theatre director at Trøndelag Teater from 1984 to 1989, at Det Norske Teatret from...
was director from 1990 to 1997. Actor and dramatist Vidar Sandem
Vidar Sandem
Vidar Sandem is a Norwegian actor, playwright and theatre director.He made his stage debut at Den Nationale Scene in 1970. He started working at Det Norske Teatret in 1977, and served as theatre director from 1997. Among his film roles is "the father" in Per Blom's Is-slottet from 1987, based on a...
has been theatre director from 1997.
Early repertory
1913Ivar Aasen
Ivar Aasen
Ivar Andreas Aasen was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright and poet.-Background:...
's Ervingen and Hulda Garborg's Rationelt fjøsstell were played on the theatre's first touring day, in Kristiansand
Kristiansand
-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...
2 January 1913. At this occasion also a prologue written by Anders Hovden
Anders Hovden
Anders Hovden was a Norwegian hymnwriter, priest, author and popular speaker.-Education and career:...
was read. Olav Hoprekstad
Olav Hoprekstad
Olav Ragnvaldsson Hoprekstad was a Norwegian educator, playwright, theatre critic and literary critic.-Personal life:...
's Bjørnefjell was played the next day in Kristiansand. Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...
's Jeppe på Berget was played in Volda
Volda
Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. The municipality is located about south of the city of Ålesund.-General information:...
in February, and later at the official opening in Bondeungdomslaget's assembly hall in Bøndernes Hus in Kristiania
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
6 October 1913. At this official opening, President of the Storting Jørgen Løvland
Jørgen Løvland
Jørgen Gunnarsson Løvland was a Norwegian politician and Prime Minister. He was Minister of Labour 1898-1899, 1900-1902 and 1902-1903, member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm 1899-1900, Prime Minister in Stockholm in 1905, Minister of Foreign Affairs 1905 and 1905-1907, Prime Minister...
, prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Gunnar Knudsen
Gunnar Knudsen
Gunnar Knudsen , born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who had two spells as Prime Minister of Norway from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920...
, the ministers Bryggesaa, Castberg, Abrahamsen, Keilhau and Urbye, President of the Odelsting Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was a Norwegian political figure representing Venstre, the social liberal party. He served as Prime Minister of Norway between 1924 and 1926, again from 1928 until 1931, and finally between 1933 and 1935.Born in Bergen, he founded the shipping company A/S J. Ludwig...
, and King of Norway, Haakon VII
Haakon VII of Norway
Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg...
were present. "Jeppe" was played by the theatre's director Rasmus Rasmussen.
The next day Oskar Braaten
Oskar Braaten
Oskar Braaten was a Norwegian novelist and playwright.-Biography:Oskar Alexander Braaten was born in Sagene, a borough of the city of Oslo. Sagene was one of Norway's oldest industrial areas dating to the mid-19th century. Oskar Braaten attended school in Sagene until he was 15 years old...
's Stor-Anders was played. In November 1913 the theatre played Friarar by Hoprekstad, and two plays by Gustaf af Geijerstam
Gustaf af Geijerstam
Gustaf af Geijerstam was a Swedish novelist. He was a friend of August Strindberg's. Many of his works were translated into German during his lifetime, and one, Äktenskapets komedi , was reviewed favorable by Rainer Maria Rilke, who remarked that Geijerstam was an author "one must follow...
, Lars-Anders and Jan-Anders.
1914
In 1914 the theatre played Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's comedy Arme Jørgen (George Dandin), Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg
Arne Garborg, born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg was a Norwegian writer.Garborg championed the use of Landsmål , as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into it...
's Læraren, Oskar Braaten's Ungen (in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
), Sigurd Eldegard's Gamlelandet, and Hulda Garborg's Tyrihans.