Icelandic Playwrights Introduced in Iceland’s Embassies in Oslo, Helsinki, and Berlin
Performing Arts Center Iceland is launching a new project in collaboration with Iceland’s embassies in Oslo, Helsinki, and Berlin, as well as Business Iceland, providing Icelandic playwrights with an opportunity to showcase their works on the international stage. The goal of the project is to increase the visibility of Icelandic playwriting, strengthen connections with international theater professionals, and create opportunities for Icelandic plays to be staged abroad.
In partnership with the Icelandic Dramatists’ Union and the Writers’ Union of Iceland, playwrights Hrafnhildur Hagalín and Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson have been selected to participate in the project. They will present their works at events in the embassies, where excerpts from their plays will be performed by actors from the respective countries. Following the staged readings, a discussion will take place where the playwrights will talk about their works, inspirations, and creative processes.
A reception will follow each event, allowing guests to engage further with the playwrights and learn more about Icelandic playwriting. Additionally, the project aims to highlight other active Icelandic playwrights and the diverse theater scene in Iceland.
Hrafnhildur Hagalín
Hrafnhildur Hagalín has been a prominent figure in Icelandic theater for many years, working as a playwright, translator, and dramaturg. She studied guitar at the Reykjavík College of Music and later pursued further studies in Spain before enrolling in Sorbonne University in Paris to study French and theater studies.
She gained recognition with her play I am the Maestro (1990) and has since written numerous works, including Easy Now, Elektra (2000), North (2004), Guilty (2013), and Flood (2016). She has also written radio plays such as Loners and Open House, worked on adaptations, and translated numerous plays. In 2022, she published the poetry collection Skepna í eigin skinni.
Her works have received numerous accolades, including the Nordic Playwright Award, the Nordic Radio Theatre Award, the DV Cultural Prize, the Gríma Performing Arts Award, and the RÚV Writers’ Award. She served as a literary consultant at the Reykjavík City Theatre (2014–2020) and the National Theatre of Iceland (2020–2023), where she was also Deputy Artistic Director.
Her latest play, Home, premiered at the National Theatre of Iceland on February 7
Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson
Tyrfingur Tyrfingsson (b. 1987) has been writing plays since an early age and has worked with both the Reykjavík City Theatre and the National Theatre of Iceland. His plays have been staged at the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Poland, KOM teatteri in Helsinki, and in spring 2024 at Théâtre de QuatʼSous in Montréal, Canada. In autumn 2025, one of his works will be staged at Rakastajat Teatteri in Finland, with further productions planned.
Tyrfingur’s plays have been featured at major European theater festivals, including the Avignon Theatre Festival, La Mousson D‘été, and Festival Regards Croisés with Troisième Bureau in France. In 2021, the Bureau des Lecteurs at la Comédie-Française, the French National Theatre, selected his play Helgi Comes Apart for their reading list. In spring 2024, an international jury under Theater Info in Helsinki named Lúna one of the fifteen most notable contemporary plays. The upcoming edition of Playwriting with Purpose, published by Routledge, will feature an in-depth discussion of the same work.
His plays have been translated into French, German, Dutch, Finnish, Polish, English, and Italian and have been published worldwide. He has won the Gríma Performing Arts Award three times and is currently based in Amsterdam.
The first event in the series will take place in Berlin on May 14, 2024, while the events in Oslo and Helsinki are scheduled for next winter.
This project aims to use Iceland’s embassies as a platform for promoting Icelandic playwriting and fostering connections between Icelandic playwrights and international theater professionals. By showcasing Icelandic works abroad, new opportunities for productions and collaborations emerge, further enhancing the global recognition of Icelandic playwriting.
