Translations:
One of our goals is to commission new translations of contemporary Nordic dramatic literature. 

Verkeleg - Reality

Gyrid Axe Øvsteng
Translated by Sarah Cameron Sunde
2010

Reality examines the blurred line between playing a role and being played by the role.  Most of Ms. Øvsteng’s work is politically and/or philosophically oriented. She explores the music and rhythm in language, and what is said in silence.
Gyrid Axe Øvsteng was nominated for the Ibsen Prize in 2008 for Verkeleg.  Her work is accessible to adults, youth, and children.

Translated with a generous grant from the Norway’s Dramatikersforbundet.

ÓHAPP! - MISHAP!

Bjarni Jónsson
American Translation by Hilmar Ramos
2010

MISHAP! is a powerful reflection of our times, where we look in on a young couple who are renovating a beautiful apartment while simultaneously struggling with difficulties.  The media people reveal a new and unexpected side to themselves, the master chef conjures up a delicious meal from familiar ingredients, and the psychologist dazzles.  In other words—excellent television fodder. Or—is this theatre? True, or false?  And who is accountable?

Jónsson’s latest work, MISHAP!, (Candidate for the Nordic Drama Award 2008) opened at the Icelandic National Theatre in September 2007.  In 2004, Jónsson was awarded the Nordic Prize for Radio Drama for The Wheel Of Sleep, a production done in collaboration with the band Múm.

Translated with a generous grant from the Icelandic Literature Fund.

De Frusna På Torget (1982) - The Frozen on the Square (1982)

Lucas Svensson
Translated by Chad Eric Bergman
2011

De Frusna På Torget (1982) examines the lives of four "extras" in Ingmar Bergman's masterpiece "Fanny and Alexander" where they grapple with what it means to exist in the imaginary world of the film, as well as the mundane world of the everyday.

Kokkola

Leea Klemola
A new American Translation
by Nina Sallinen
2012

Klemola calls her play Kokkola (the name of a town in Finland) an “arctic tragedy.” This absurd but also moving story, populated by colorful characters, has been both a critical and popular success.

Leea Klemola is an award-winning actress, having won Finland's highest acting honor, the Jussi Award, for her leading role in the Finnish movie Neitoperho (1997). In 2005 she was recognized by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, which awarded her an Olavi Veistäjä Grant for her significant contributions to Finnish theatre as a director and playwright.

Translated with a generous grant from the Finlandia Foundation.

A Summer's Day - Ein sommars dag
Autumn Dream - Draum om hausten
Winter - Vinter

Jon Fosse
Translated by Kyle Korynta
2013

Akvavit Theatre presented a “triptych” of plays by Norwegian luminary playwright Jon Fosse at Chicago’s DCASE Storefront Theater in March of 2013. The plays — A Summer's Day, Autumn Dream, and Winter — were all Chicago/Midwest premieres and all were in world-premiere translations by Kyle Korynta (commissioned by Akvavit).

Jon Fosse is Europe’s most-produced living playwright, although he has been rarely produced in the United States. Widely considered in Europe as one of the greatest contemporary playwrights, and “Norway’s leading export,” he has been ranked 83rd on a list of the Top 100 Living Geniuses by The Daily Telegraph. Among numerous other awards, Fosse was awarded the 2010 International Ibsen Award.