ÍSLANDSKLUKKAN

Iceland’s Bell is one of Nobel Prize winning Icelandic author Halldór Laxness’ most famous novels. Set in the seventeenth-century in Iceland, when Icelanders suffered under the oppression and contempt of its Danish overlords, as well as from plague and famine, the novel and play follows its main characters through hardships, love and loss. It’s written in the time of Iceland gaining independence from Danes, so it’s highly political in the authors’ intent to try and awaken Icelanders from their submissiveness to overlords. The works’ themes of independence, colonization and oppression made it interesting for Elefant Theatre Group, an Icelandic theatre group where all the actors are Icelanders of mixed origin, to encounter. The idea to produce this play came directly from actress María Thelma encountering racism when saying out loud that Snæfríður Íslandssól(Snæfríður Sun of Iceland), the main female character of Iceland’s Bell, was her dream role to play and being told by Icelandic white actors that she could obviously never play that role because of her being mixed race. Elefant therefore decided to make a point to the theater scene in Iceland that any role can be played by any competent actor. 

Following the production’s premiere, Iceland’s Bell received 10 nominations for the Icelandic Theater Award Gríman.

Produced by Elefant Theater Group in collaboration with the National Theatre of Iceland in 2023.

New adaptation of the play from Halldór Laxness’ novel: Salvör Gullbrá Þórarinsdóttir and Bjartur Örn Bachmann

Directed by Þorleifur Örn Arnarsson
Performed by:
Davíð Þór Katrinarson
Jónmundur Grétarsson
María Thelma Smáradóttir
Hallgrímur Ólafsson
Ernesto Camilo Aldazábal Valdés
Bjartur Örn Bachmann
Set design and Costumes: Guðný Hrund Sigurðardóttir