Axel Otto Normann (23 January 1884 – 8 May 1962) was a Norwegian journalist, newspaper editor, theatre critic and

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 ...

. He was born in

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

as the son of a wholesaler. He finished his secondary education in 1901 and studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the University of Kristiania and for half a year at

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

, but without graduating. Instead, he started a career in journalism. In 1905 he was hired as subeditor in the newspaper ''Posten''; he was chief editor briefly in 1907. In 1910 he married actress Helene Andersen (1881–1955). He was a journalist in ''

Aftenposten (; ; stylized as in the masthead) is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation as well as Norway's newspaper of record. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 daily copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen ...

'' from 1907 to 1915 and editor-in-chief for ''

Verdens Gang (), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norway, Norwegian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, declining from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. Nevertheless, ''VG'' is ...

'' from 1915 to 1922. In 1922, one year before ''Verdens Gang'' went defunct, he left Norway for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

but continued to write for Norwegian newspapers and magazines. In 1927 he was among the founders of the Norwegian Theatre and Art Critics' Association. In 1929 he returned to Norway as a theatre critic of ''

Arbeiderbladet is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. Eirik Hoff Lys ...

''. He biographed actress

Johanne Dybwad Johanne Dybwad (née Juell; 2 August 1867 – 4 March 1950) was a Norwegian stage actress and stage producer. She was the leading actress in Norwegian theatre for half a century. Early and personal life Johanne was born in Oslo, Christiani ...

in the 1937 book ''Johanne Dybwad. Liv og kunst''. He also contributed to the women's magazine ''Urd''. He was theatre director at the National Theatre from 1935 to 1941, and again from 1945 to 1946. The reason for his hiatus was 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 ...

. The occupation started on 9 April 1940, whereas the attempts of nazification came somewhat later. Non-cooperative members of the National Theatre board of directors—literary historian Francis Bull, publisher

Harald Grieg Harald Grieg (3 August 1894 – 6 October 1972) was a Norwegian publishing, publisher. He was director of Gyldendal Norsk Forlag and for many years was a leading figure in the Norwegian book industry. Biography Grieg was born on 3 August 1894, i ...

and banker Johannes Sejersted Bødtker—were arrested by the Nazi authorities in 1941. With a new, Nazi-friendly board in place, Normann chose to resign as director, returning only after the liberation of Norway in 1945. He had also chaired the Association of Norwegian Theatre Directors from 1936 to 1941, but did not return to this position. He was theatre director for

Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo, Norway, in 1929, and operated independently until 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. Its original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama. History The ...

from 1947, and for

Oslo Nye Teater Oslo Nye Teater is a theater in Oslo, Norway. Its main venue is located at Rosenkrantz' gate 10, and the company is wholly owned by Oslo Municipality. History The establishment opened as Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that ope ...

from 1959 to his death. In 1954 he released his second and last book, editing the

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

for the 25th anniversary of Det Nye Teater. Normann was highly decorated. He became a Knight, First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1951 and was a Knight of the Swedish

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

, Knight of the Belgian Order of Leopold, Commander of the Danish

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

, Commander of the Finnish Order of the Lion and Officer of the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. He died in May 1962 in Oslo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Normann, Axel Otto 1884 births 1962 deaths Norwegian newspaper editors Norwegian theatre critics Norwegian biographers Norwegian male biographers Norwegian theatre directors University of Paris alumni Norwegian people of World War II Commanders of the Order of the Lion of Finland People from Fredrikstad Norwegian expatriates in France Knights of the Order of Vasa Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog 20th-century Norwegian translators 20th-century Norwegian male writers