From Hackney basements to the Ambassador’s Residence: A Taste of New Norwegian Drama
Some emails are just better than others. In early April, one landed in our inbox from Anette at the Norwegian Embassy – would we be interested in producing a showcase reading of four Norwegian plays?
Organised in collaboration with the Embassy, Performing Arts Hub Norway (PAHN), and Dramatikkens Hus, it was exactly the kind of invitation we find impossible to refuse. We had just come out of one project and were trying to catch our breath, but we said yes anyway. Because, really, how could we resist?
After a quick online meeting, we found ourselves diving into four Norwegian texts. The challenge was selecting ten-minute excerpts from plays that are very different in style and tone. Luckily, the playwrights and their agents helped us identify the right scenes to share, making the selection process a real collaboration. It’s been a whistle-stop tour through some of the voices shaping Norwegian theatre today.
We were joined by our associate artist, director, and dramaturg Ria Samartzi, who dove headfirst into the work alongside us. On Wednesday 13 May, we’ll be sharing the works at the Norwegian Ambassador’s Residence:
- The Play by Jon Fosse, translated by May-Brit Akerholt
- The Other Man by Monica Isakstuen, translated by Neil Howard
- Give Me Your Hand by Arne Lygre, translated by Tom Remlov
- Distance by Kristofer Blindheim Grønskag, translated by May-Brit Akerholt
A huge thank you to PAHN, Dramatikkens Hus, and the Norwegian Embassy for bringing us into this. And to Ria, and our wonderful ensemble – Attila Akinci, Edyta Budnik, Eugenia Low, and Laurie Coldwell – for diving in headfirst alongside us.
For more about the plays and playwrights, please visit the PAHN website. And for more information about the directors and the actors, scroll below.
artist biographies
directors
Ria Samartzi (director)
Ria Samartzi is a UK-based director, dramaturg and performance maker from Greece. Her background is in movement, developing new work and collaborative practice. Recent credits include directing Black Swans by Christina Kettering (Omnibus, 2024) and production dramaturgy on The Wetsuitman by Freek Mariën (dir. Trine Garrett, Rose Lipman Building, 2022 & Arcola, 2023).
Trine Garrett (collaborating director)
Trine Garrett (she/her) is Co-Artistic Director of Foreign Affairs, a theatre company based in east London focusing on plays in translation and cross-cultural collaboration. Directing credits include The Wetsuitman by Freek Mariën, translated by David McKay, Where I Call Home by Marc-Antoine Cyr, translated by Charis Ainslie, and The Warmhouse by Anna Bro, translated by Paul Russell Garrett.
ensemble
Atilla Akinci
Atilla trained at the Oxford School of Drama. Theatre: The Land of the Living (National Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (CLF Art Cafe); Please, Repeat After Me (English Theatre Berlin); Coriolanus and Troilus and Cressida (Rose Playhouse); Ratchet (Soho Theatre) TV: Doctor Who (BBC); Out There (ITV); The Famous Five (BBC); No Return (ITV)
Eugenia Low
Eugenia is a BESEA actress of Singaporean heritage and a Foreign Affairs associate artist. Theatre credits include The Wetsuitman (Arcola Theatre), Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare North Playhouse), Much Ado About Nothing (Trinity Theatre Tunbridge Wells), Casino Royale (Secret Cinema). Screen credits include upcoming ITV series The Party, feature film Anonymous.
Edyta Budnik
Edyta plays the role of ‘Jade’ in the critically acclaimed series, Ted Lasso for Apple
TV+. Theatre credits include The New Real at the Royal Shakespeare Company; Albion at the Almeida and The Death of Ophelia at the Globe. TV credits include Killing Eve; The Tunnel II; The Bletchley Circle and Suspects.
Laurie Coldwell
Laurie is an actor, writer and a co-artistic director of award-winning company Bang Average Theatre. Featured credits include Dirty Corset (Bang Average/Pleasance/Soho Theatre), Red Skies (Eastern Angles), Tale Trail to the Three Musketeers (New Vic Theatre) & Hound of the Baskervilles (Vienna’s English Theatre).