Kjetil Bang-Hansen
Encyclopedia
Kjetil Bang-Hansen is a Norwegian actor
, dancer, stage producer and theatre director.
as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen
and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and choreographer
Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967. He is brother of film producer and film critic Pål Bang-Hansen
.
Bang-Hansen studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
from 1959 to 1962, and later at the University of Oslo
and at theatres in Stockholm and London. He made his debut as actor at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's Fjernsynsteatret
in 1961. He was employed as actor and dancer at the revue stage Edderkoppen from 1962 to 1963, and at Oslo Nye Teater
from 1963 to 1966. His debut as instructor was an adaption of William Gibson
's Two For The Seesaw at Trøndelag Teater
in 1967. Later the same year he also staged adaptions of Harold Pinter
's The Dumb Waiter
(Kjøkkenheisen) and Eugene Ionesco
's La Cantatrice chauve
(Den skallete sangerinnen). Among his other productions are Ibsen
's Ghosts
(Gengangere), Brand
and An Enemy of the People
(En folkefiende), Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
, and Cecilie Løveid
's Maria Q.
Bang-Hansen was part of the group that established the regional theatre for Møre og Romsdal
, Teatret Vårt
, in 1972. At this theatre he produced an adaption of Shakespeare
's Comedy of Errors
in 1972, Kaj Munk
's Ordet in 1973, and Henrik Ibsen
's Kongsemnerne
in 1974.
He headed the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
from 1973 to 1976, and was theatre director at Rogaland Teater
in Stavanger
from 1976 to 1982. During his period at Rogaland Teater this theatre became one of the most central theatres in Norway. His adaption of Ibsen's verse
play Peer Gynt
received much acclaim, and it was also played at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, giving Bang-Hansen international recognition. At Rogaland Teater he also produced a theatre adaption of Lev Tolstoj's story The Story of a Horse
.
He was theatre director at Den Nationale Scene
in Bergen
from 1982 to 1986, where one of his most important productions was an adaption of Sofokles' Theban plays. He was theatre director at the National Theatre
in Oslo
from 1986 to 1987, when he had to resign due to failed economic success. He was theatre director at Oslo Nye Teater
from 1998 to 2001. A selection of his writings on theatre was issued in his book Trommer og sang (1987).
In 1983 he was awarded the Fritt Ord Award
. He received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Theatre in 1999/2000, and the Hedda Award
in 2003. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, dancer, stage producer and theatre director.
Early and personal life
Bang-Hansen was born in OsloOslo
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...
as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen
Odd Bang-Hansen
Odd Bang-Hansen was a Norwegian novelist and children's writer.He made his literary debut in 1938 with the novel Fager er studentens drøm. He wrote several children's books, including Mette og Tom i fjellet , and Trapp med 9 trinn...
and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967. He is brother of film producer and film critic Pål Bang-Hansen
Pål Bang-Hansen
Pål Bang-Hansen was a Norwegian actor, film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is particularly known as a television personality and film expert at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, leading the television film show Filmmagasinet for more than thirty years.-Early life and...
.
Career
After examen artiumExamen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
Bang-Hansen studied at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
The Norwegian National Academy of Theatre was established as a three-year theater-education in 1953, under the name of Statens teaterskole.The school was given collegiate status in 1982...
from 1959 to 1962, and later at the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
and at theatres in Stockholm and London. He made his debut as actor at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's Fjernsynsteatret
Fjernsynsteatret
Fjernsynsteatret was a department of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which produced plays for television broadcasting. It opened in 1960 , and operated until 1990, when a major reorganisation of NRK took place.Its first leader was Arild Brinchmann, who headed the theatre from its start...
in 1961. He was employed as actor and dancer at the revue stage Edderkoppen from 1962 to 1963, and at Oslo Nye Teater
Oslo Nye Teater
Oslo Nye Teater in Oslo is one of Norway's most visited theatres.The theatre opened in 1959 as a merge between Det Nye Teater and Folketeatret, and consists of four stages; Oslo Nye Hovedscenen, Oslo Nye Centralteatret, Oslo Nye Trikkestallen and Oslo Nye Caféscenen.-External links:*...
from 1963 to 1966. His debut as instructor was an adaption of William Gibson
William Gibson (playwright)
William Gibson was an American playwright and novelist. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1938.He was of Irish, French, German, Dutch and Russian ancestry...
's Two For The Seesaw at Trøndelag Teater
Trøndelag Teater
Trøndelag Teater is a large theater in the city of Trondheim, in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway.-Background:Trøndelag Teater stages large-scale dance and musical performances. Originally built in 1816, the theater is the oldest stage in Scandinavia in continuous use...
in 1967. Later the same year he also staged adaptions of Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
's The Dumb Waiter
The Dumb Waiter
The Dumb Waiter is a one-act play by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter written in 1957; it premiered at the Hampstead Theatre Club, on 21 January 1960...
(Kjøkkenheisen) and Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's La Cantatrice chauve
The Bald Soprano
La Cantatrice Chauve — translated from French as The Bald Soprano or The Bald Prima Donna — is the first play written by Franco-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on May 11, 1950 at the Théâtre des Noctambules, Paris...
(Den skallete sangerinnen). Among his other productions are Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's Ghosts
Ghosts (play)
Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
(Gengangere), Brand
Brand (play)
Brand is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is a verse tragedy, written in 1865 and first performed in Stockholm on 24 March 1867. Brand was an intellectual play that provoked much original thought....
and An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People
An Enemy of the People is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen wrote it in response to the public outcry against his play Ghosts, which at that time was considered scandalous...
(En folkefiende), Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, and Cecilie Løveid
Cecilie Løveid
Cecilie Løveid is a Norwegian novelist, poet, playwright, and writer of children's books. She was born in Mysen.She made her literary debut in 1972, with the novel Most. She received the Gyldendal Prize in 2001. Løveid's first play was the one-act Tingene, tingene, published in the literary...
's Maria Q.
Bang-Hansen was part of the group that established the regional theatre for Møre og Romsdal
Møre og Romsdal
is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Sogn og Fjordane. The county administration is located in Molde, while Ålesund is the largest city.-The name:...
, Teatret Vårt
Teatret Vårt
Teatret Vårt is a regional theatre for Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was established in 1972, and is based in Molde. The theatre cooperates with the annual Molde International Jazz Festival. Carl Morten Amundsen has been theatre director from 2000....
, in 1972. At this theatre he produced an adaption of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
in 1972, Kaj Munk
Kaj Munk
Kaj Harald Leininger Munk was a Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, known for his cultural engagement and his martyrdom during the Occupation of Denmark of World War II...
's Ordet in 1973, and Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's Kongsemnerne
The Pretenders (play)
The Pretenders is a dramatic play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Play overview:The Pretenders was written in bursts during 1863, but Ibsen claims to have had sources and the idea back in 1858. A five-act play in prose set in the thirteenth-century. The play opened at the old Christiania...
in 1974.
He headed the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
Norwegian National Academy of Theatre
The Norwegian National Academy of Theatre was established as a three-year theater-education in 1953, under the name of Statens teaterskole.The school was given collegiate status in 1982...
from 1973 to 1976, and was theatre director at Rogaland Teater
Rogaland Teater
Rogaland Teater is a theatre in Stavanger, Norway.-Background:The theatre building was built in 1883, on a parcel of Kannik prestegård. It was designed by architect Hartvig Sverdrup Eckhoff, and had initially almost 500 seats. The building housed Stavanger Faste Scene from 1914 to 1921, and...
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...
from 1976 to 1982. During his period at Rogaland Teater this theatre became one of the most central theatres in Norway. His adaption of Ibsen's verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
play Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
received much acclaim, and it was also played at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival, giving Bang-Hansen international recognition. At Rogaland Teater he also produced a theatre adaption of Lev Tolstoj's story The Story of a Horse
Kholstomer
"Kholstomer", also translated as "Strider", is one of the most striking stories in Russian literature. It was started by Leo Tolstoy in 1863 and left unfinished until 1886, when it was reworked and published as "Kholstomer: The Story of a Horse". Georgi Tovstonogov staged it in his theatre in 1975....
.
He was theatre director at Den Nationale Scene
Den Nationale Scene
Den Nationale Scene is the largest theatre in Bergen, Norway. Den Nationale Scene is also one of the oldest permanent theatre in Norway.-History:...
in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
from 1982 to 1986, where one of his most important productions was an adaption of Sofokles' Theban plays. He was theatre director at the National Theatre
Nationaltheatret
The National Theatre in Oslo is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts.The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiania Theatre, which was founded in 1829...
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...
from 1986 to 1987, when he had to resign due to failed economic success. He was theatre director at Oslo Nye Teater
Oslo Nye Teater
Oslo Nye Teater in Oslo is one of Norway's most visited theatres.The theatre opened in 1959 as a merge between Det Nye Teater and Folketeatret, and consists of four stages; Oslo Nye Hovedscenen, Oslo Nye Centralteatret, Oslo Nye Trikkestallen and Oslo Nye Caféscenen.-External links:*...
from 1998 to 2001. A selection of his writings on theatre was issued in his book Trommer og sang (1987).
In 1983 he was awarded the Fritt Ord Award
Fritt Ord Award
The organization Fritt Ord awards two prizes to support freedom of speech; the Fritt Ord Award and the Fritt Ord Honorary Award .-Fritt Ord Award:These are the laureates of the Fritt Ord Award:*1976 : Johan Vogt*1977 : Henrik Groth...
. He received the Norwegian Critics Prize for Theatre in 1999/2000, and the Hedda Award
Hedda Award
The Hedda Award is a Norwegian theatre award, first awarded in 1998. It is named after the character "Hedda" from Ibsen's play Hedda Gabler. Among the prize categories, which have varied over the years, are best theatre production, best direction, best stage performance, and occasionally an...
in 2003. He is a member of the Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature
Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature
The Norwegian Academy for Language and Literature is a Norwegian learned body on matters pertaining to the Dano-Norwegian language. Its primary role is regulating the written standard known as Riksmål ....
.