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Det Norske Teatret ( en, Norwegian Theater)Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from
Hulda Garborg Hulda Garborg (née Bergersen, 22 February 1862 – 5 November 1934) was a Norwegian writer, novelist, playwright, poet, folk dancer, and theatre instructor. She was married to Arne Garborg, and is today perhaps best known for kindling interes ...
and
Edvard Drabløs Edvard Drabløs (1 April 1883 – 29 April 1976) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. Biography Drabløs was born at Sykkylven in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of Jens Helgesen Drabløs (1856–1925) and Olave Velle (1852–191 ...
. It opened in 1913, touring with two plays, ''Ervingen'' by
Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from v ...
and ''Rationelt Fjøsstell'' by Hulda Garborg. Its first official performance was
Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...
's comedy ''Jeppe på berget'', with
Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...
and the prime minister of Norway among the spectators. Hulda Garborg was the first board manager, and Rasmus Rasmussen was the first
theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
. The theatre primarily performs plays written in or translated into
Nynorsk Nynorsk () () is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokmål. From 12 May 1885, it became the state-sanctioned version of Ivar Aasen's standard Norwegian language ( no, Landsmål) parallel to the Dano-No ...
. The theatre has three stages, and about 12–15 productions per year, plus guest plays. Five of
Jon Fosse Jon Olav Fosse (born 29 September 1959) is a Norwegian author and dramatist. Biography Jon Fosse was born in Haugesund, Norway. A serious accident at age seven brought him close to death; the experience significantly influenced his adulthood wr ...
'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, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organiza ...
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 Drabløs Edvard Drabløs (1 April 1883 – 29 April 1976) was a Norwegian actor and theatre director. Biography Drabløs was born at Sykkylven in Møre og Romsdal, Norway. He was the son of Jens Helgesen Drabløs (1856–1925) and Olave Velle (1852–191 ...
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 (25 November 1888 – 16 February 1967) was a Norwegian stage and film actor and theatre director. Born in the village of Alversund, Lindås municipality in Hordaland, he made his stage debut at Det Norske Teatret in 1913, and s ...
, who had been with the theatre from the start, was the director from 1916 to 1922 (shared with Anton Heiberg and Sigurd Eldegard in periods). After him Ingjald Haaland served as theatre director for eleven years, from 1922 to 1933.
Hans Jacob Nilsen Hans Jacob Nilsen (8 November 1897 – 6 March 1957) 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. Personal ...
was theatre director from 1933 to 1934, and from 1946 to 1950. The writer
Oskar Braaten Oskar Braaten (25 November 1881 – 17 July 1939) 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 ...
had earlier worked as a consultant for the theatre, and served as its director from 1934 to 1936. The actor
Knut Hergel Knut ( Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used ...
was director from 1936 to 1942, and again from 1945 to 1946. His period was interrupted by
Nasjonal Samling Nasjonal Samling (, NS; ) was a Norwegian far-right political party active from 1933 to 1945. It was the only legal party of Norway from 1942 to 1945. It was founded by former minister of defence Vidkun Quisling and a group of supporters such a ...
's Cally Monrad from 1942 to 1945, during the
German occupation of Norway The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany during the Second World War began on 9 April 1940 after Operation Weserübung. Conventional armed resistance to the German invasion ended on 10 June 1940, and Nazi Germany controlled Norway until th ...
. This forced movement by the nazis was answered with a total boycott by the public. The
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
Ole Barman was theatre director 1951–1953, and Nils Sletbak, also jurist, 1953–1961.
Dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...
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 Otto Homlung (born 19 July 1943) 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 direc ...
was director from 1990 to 1997. Actor and
dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
Vidar Sandem Vidar Sandem (born 19 February 1947) 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. Amon ...
served as theatre director from 1997 to 2010.
Erik Ulfsby Erik Ulfsby (born 2 October 1970) is a Norwegian actor, stage instructor and theatre director. Biography Ulfsby was born in Oslo, and educated at the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre. As an actor, he has performed at Trøndelag Teater (T ...
was appointed theatre director from 2011.


Early repertory

;1913
Ivar Aasen Ivar Andreas Aasen (; 5 August 1813 – 23 September 1896) was a Norwegian philologist, lexicographer, playwright, and poet. He is best known for having assembled one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language, Nynorsk, from v ...
's ''Ervingen'' and Hulda Garborg's ''Rationelt fjøsstell'' were played on the theatre's first touring day, in
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...
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 Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...
's ''Jeppe på Berget'' was played in
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. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Gro ...
in February, and later at the official opening in Bondeungdomslaget's assembly hall in ''Bøndernes Hus'' in
Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
6 October 1913. At this official opening,
President of the Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...
Jørgen Løvland Jørgen Gunnarsson Løvland (3 February 1848 – 21 August 1922) was a Norwegian educator and civil servant of the Liberal Party who served as the 10th prime minister of Norway from 1907 to 1908. Background Løvland was born at Lauvland in Ev ...
,
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...
Gunnar Knudsen Gunnar Knudsen (19 September 1848 – 1 December 1928), born Aanon Gunerius Knudsen, was a Norwegian politician from the Liberal Party who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Norway twice from 1908 to 1910 and from 1913 to 1920. He also inherite ...
, the ministers Bryggesaa, Castberg, Abrahamsen, Keilhau and Urbye, President of the
Odelsting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years base ...
Johan Ludwig Mowinckel Johan Ludwig Mowinckel (22 October 1870 – 30 September 1943) was a Norwegian statesman, shipping magnate and philanthropist. He served as the 16th prime minister of Norway during three separate terms. Biography Johan Ludwig Mowinckel was born ...
, and King of Norway, Haakon VII were present. "Jeppe" was played by the theatre's director Rasmus Rasmussen. The next day
Oskar Braaten Oskar Braaten (25 November 1881 – 17 July 1939) 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 ...
'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 Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
's comedy '' Arme Jørgen (George Dandin)'',
Arne Garborg Arne Garborg (born Aadne Eivindsson Garborg) (25 January 1851 – 14 January 1924) was a Norwegian writer. Garborg championed the use of Landsmål (now known as Nynorsk, or New Norwegian), as a literary language; he translated the Odyssey into i ...
's ''Læraren'', Oskar Braaten's ''Ungen'' (in
Stavanger Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. Th ...
), Sigurd Eldegard's ''Gamlelandet'', and Hulda Garborg's ''Tyrihans''.


References

{{Coord, 59, 54, 54, N, 10, 44, 19, E, source:nowiki_region:NO, display=title Theatres in Oslo Nynorsk 1912 establishments in Norway