Peer Gynt (IS)
In Thjodleikhúsid’s production we meet a Peer Gynt we all know somehow; we have encountered him in the people around us, as well as ourselves.
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur / Thjodleikhúsid
We see a man who, in his dying hour, is given the change to look back on his life and discover what traces he leaves behind.
In their work on Norway’s «national drama» Peer Gynt, the Icelandic director Baltasat Kormákur and his ensemble emphasised aspects of Ibsen’s drama that address them personally, in order to find connections between the play and their own lives and experiences. In the end, is what matters really all our little betrayals, when we refrain from taking a position in difficult situations or regarding ethical questions? Have we become doers, doing the wrong thing, when we refuse to take a stand in our personal lives or in global issues?
The stage set is a constantly shifting space, where the audience through simple, yet effective measures see places like a morgue, a fishery, a slaughterhouse, a hospital, and a psychiatric clinic. Thjodleikhúsid’s production grabs hold of the audience intellectually as well as emotionally. Peer Gynt is both a dazzling visual experience, and a wrestling match with theatrical form. For over ten years, Baltasat Kormákur has been Iceland’s foremost film and theatre director, as well as an actor himself. He is lauded for his visual theatre work, and has won international awards for his feature films 101 REYKJAVIK and THE SEA.
Peer Gynt premiered in Reykjavik March 2006.