The Prophets of Eternity Fjord
Kim Leine's “The Prophets of Eternity Fjord” and “Red Man/Black Man” are stories about the power of religion and its exploitation of people's quest for meaning and belonging. The novels focus on the Danish colonization of Greenland in and after 1728, following Hans Egede's ‘mission’ to the distant land.
The Greenlandic National Theater now presents a staged reading of selected scenes from a new theatrical adaptation of Leine's two books, written by Icelandic playwright Bjarni Jónsson and staged by Egill Pálsson, director and artistic director of the Reykjavík City Theater.
The first part is based on Red Man/Black Man and the Egede family, who, after spending seven years in Greenland, take Paapa, the son of shaman Aappaluttoq, into their care.
The second part is based on The Prophets in Eternity Fjord, where the Danish-Norwegian priest Morten Falck becomes involved in a growing conflict between colonists and Greenlanders who dream of freedom, equality, and brotherhood.
The adaptation began as a joint production between MurMur Productions Reykjavík, Hålogaland Teater Tromsø, the Royal Theater Copenhagen, the Northern Norway Festival, and the Greenlandic National Theater, with the aim of creating a cross-Nordic performing arts production.
BIO:
Bjarni Jónsson *1966
Writer, dramaturg and translator. Studied theatre and dramaturgy at the Ludwig-Maximillians Universität in Munich and has since 1994 worked for institutional theatres and theatre groups, mainly the National Theatre of Iceland, the Reykjavík City Theatre, Kriðpleir Theatre Group, Iceland Dance Company, choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir and The Brokentalkers in Dublin. Bjarni is a two-time nominee for the Nordic Drama Award (“Coffee” in 2000, “Mishap!” in 2008) and a recipient of the Nordic Radio Drama Award for “The Wheel of Sleep” (in 2004, with the band Múm). His plays have been translated into English, Swedish, German and Polish. In 2007 Bjarni co-founded the Lókal International Theatre Festival in Reykjavík and remained its co-artistic director until 2018. He also has translated 30 plays and 25 novels into the Icelandic language.
Egill Heiðar Anton Pálsson
Born in Iceland 1974.
Diploma in Acting from the Icelandic Art Academi (1995-99) and Diploma in Theatre Directing from The Danish National School for Stage Arts(1999-2002)
Head of Acting department Icelandic Arts Academy 2003-2006.
Teacher at the Directing department of the Danish National School for Stage Arts 2006-2012.
Professor at Directing Department Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch i Berlin 2013- 2020.
Artistic director of Hålogaland Theatre in Tromsø from 2020 to 2025. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Reykjvík City Theater.
As a theatre director he has done over 100 productions in all the Nordic countries and in Europe as well as Australia. Theaters include Royal Theater in Copenhagen, Gothenburg city theater, Uppsala City Theatre, Stockholm’s City Theatre, Schaubuehne Berlin, National Theater Iceland, City Theatre of Iceland, Viirus Theater Finland, National Theatre Mannheim, NIDA Sydney.
