The National Theatre of Iceland (NTI) (, pronounced ) in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, is the national theatre of Iceland. The theater, designed by

Guðjón Samúelsson Guðjón Samúelsson (16 April 1887 – 25 April 1950) was a State Architect of Iceland, and the first Icelander to be educated in architecture. He has been described as one of Iceland's most influential architects. His notable designs include th ...

, was formally opened on 20 April 1950. Since 2020, the artistic director of The National Theatre is Magnús Geir Þórðarsson.

Productions

The NTI performs around thirty productions each season (new productions, re-premieres, co-productions and guest performances), comprising a varied repertoire of new Icelandic works, new foreign works, Icelandic and foreign classics, musicals, dance pieces, puppet theatre and children's productions. The theatre produces around twenty new productions each year and also collaborates with independent theatre and dance groups.

Touring Productions

The NTI often tours its productions around Iceland, and many productions have also toured abroad, among them ''Tragedy'' at the Worlds Stages,

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, ''Gerpla'' at The Bergen International Festival, ''Shimmer the Silver Fish'' at international children festivals in Sweden and Russia, ''The Sea Museum'' at the Centre Dramatique National d’Orléans and ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

'' at the Ibsen Festival in Oslo,

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

in London and

Centre for Fine Arts The Centre for Fine Arts (, ; , ) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in the Royal Quarter of Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or by its initials PSK in Dutch. This multidisciplinary s ...

in Brussels.

Ensemble and production

The NTI is an ensemble theatre with around 35 actors employed on a permanent basis and also works with actors with temporary assignments. The theatre runs its own production departments that manufacture sets, costumes and wigs, as well as productive sound and lighting departments. A normal rehearsal period is eight weeks, the last four weeks on stage. The theatre works closely with schools on all education levels.

International collaboration

The NTI collaborates internationally, notably with directors and designers. Among international directors who have recently enriched the Icelandic theatre scene are

Yaël Farber Yaël Farber is a South African director and playwright. Early life Farber was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1971. Books ''Molora'' was published by Oberon Books in 2008 . Genre drama. Farber wrote the book as an Ancient Greek typ ...

(''My Brilliant Friend'' 2021),

Benedict Andrews Benedict Andrews (born 1972) is an Australian theatre and film director, based in Reykjavík. Born in Adelaide in 1972, he was educated at Flinders University Drama Centre. His first feature film '' Una'' (an adaptation of '' Blackbird'' by Da ...

(''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' 2013, ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' 2010), Stefan Metz (''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'' 2019, ''View from the Bridge'' 2016, ''Eyvindur and Halla'' 2015, ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' 2014, ''

The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' () is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than the baby's wealthy b ...

'' 1999) and Rimas Tuminas ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' 1993, ''Don Juan'' 1995, ''Three Sisters'' 1997, ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

'' 2000, ''Richard III'' 2003). Other collaborations are under way. Icelandic directors that work closely with the NTI have also gained international prestige, as theatre and film directors, among them

Baltasar Kormákur Baltasar Kormákur Baltasarsson is an Icelandic actor, theatre and film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films '' 101 Reykjavík'', '' The Sea'', '' A Little Trip to Heaven'', ''Contraband'', '' 2 Guns'', ''Eve ...

( ''Adrift'', ''Everest''),

Benedikt Erlingsson Benedikt Erlingsson (born 31 May 1969) is an Icelandic actor and theater and film director. He graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts in 1994 and has been with the National Theater of Iceland for most of his career. He has directed two ...

(

Nordic Council Film Prize The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The Nordisk Film & TV Fond is the funding body that administers the prize. History The first award was handed out in 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's ...

for ''

Of Horses and Men ''Of Horses and Men'' () is a 2013 Icelandic drama film written and directed by Benedikt Erlingsson and produced by fellow director Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. The film was selected as the Icelandic entry for the Best Foreign Language Film a ...

'' and ''

Woman at War ''Woman at War'' () is a 2018 Icelandic-Ukrainian comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, and starring Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir. It premiered in the Critics' Week section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. I ...

''), Una Þorleifsdóttir (Theatr im. Stefana Zeromskiego w Kielcach), Gísli Örn Garðarsson (

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

, Lyric Theatre,

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

) and Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson (

Volksbühne The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre. About The V ...

, Schauspiel Hannover).

Stages

The NTI is situated in downtown Reykjavík. Today the theatre performs in five separate venues: the Main Stage (''Stóra sviðið'', 500 seats), the Black Box (''Kassinn'', 130 seats), the Small Stage for Children (''Kúlan'', 80 seats), the experimental space the Attic (''Loftið'', 70 seats) and The Theatre Cellar Cabaret Club (''Leikhúskjallarinn'', 100-120 seats).

Artistic Directors of The National Theatre

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Theatre of Iceland Iceland, National Theatre of Iceland Theatres in Iceland Theatre in Iceland