Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods

.......and then a day and another performance.

@brittarnhild

Ágúst acts not only in one, but in two theatre performances this weekend. Last night was a bonus for Terje and me to take part in, Saturday at lunch time the main reason came. Blai Hnötturinn, The Blue Planet at Borgarleikhúsid in Reykjavik, The City Theatre. The book which this performance is based on is written by an Icelandic, Andri Snær Magnason, and is translated into English, The Story of the Blue Planet.  A lovely tale about sharing, sacrcifice and love for the world and its people.

Ágúst gave me the book some months ago so I knew the tale, but over a morning coffee, it was time for my brother Børge to retell the story for Terje.

Reykjavik has a million coffee houses, cafés and restaurant. We found the funniest, which I plan to write more about in a coffee and travel post in Caffe Avec later.

The performace was amazing, a firework in light and sound and colours and dancing children. It was stricktly forbidden to take photos, but when it was all finished and we applauded like mad, I sneaked my small camera up from my purse.......

.......and lucky me, I already had two screenshots from snaps sent me by Ágúst earlier in the day, while he already were in the theatre, practicing.

 

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Later in the day we were invited to a vernisage, with watercolours made by the cousin of my brother´s father-in-law,

and I fell in love with one of the aquarelles, Summer kiss from the veranda.
But that´s another tale.

 

A special night in Reykjavik

@beittarnhild

It started with the most amazing dinner. While Terje and I had been out for a walk, in rainy, windy, Reykjavik, my brother and sister in law mad made the table and prepared a most amazing welcome dinner for us. In their charming penthouse flat in the capital of Iceland.

No matter the weather, nor the season, my brother has a grill out on their small terrace, overloooking Reykjavik center, and he uses it all year long.

This time he had kangaroo meat on the grill.

Something we had never, ever tasted before.

Believe me, it really tasted so good :-)

 

After the meal it was time for the first part of our main reason for coming to Iceland this weekend. Àgùst acting in the performance Stéfen Ris.

Before the performance.

And after :-)

What an amazing performance. We don´t understand much Icelanding, just a few words, but we had been explained the plot in advance, and had a most lovely evening following the story.

Stéfan Ris has a facebook page, where you can see more photos. You find it here.

 

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I have followed Ágúst and his love for theatre for some time no. In January 2013 I wrote this post about Ágúst and his best friend, the boy who now had the main role in Stéfan Ris, make their own private performance.

 

Theatre here, there, everywhere

text and images britt-arnhild

Three nights a week at the National Theatre for Macbeth.
A role in children´s´television on Icelandic TV.
Up early to shot a scene for a movie.

 

This is not enough for Àgúst.

"Aunt Britt-Arnhild, I love acting. I want to act all the time. I will never stop" 

Àgúst and his friend had been to the theatre Saturday morning to watch Karius and Baktus by the late Norwegian Thorbjørn Egner, and as soon as they came home, the livingroom was transformed into Jens´mouth.
The boys wrote their own version of the story, and spent hours playing and acting.

The aunt from Norway had a lovely time,
watching two boys too busy for computer games.

Not difficult to see that this is a mouth, is it?

 

Do you know the story about Karius and Bactus,
the two tooth trolls?

  

 

Àgúst, you are inspiring me.
I tend to spend to much time on the computer.
I´ll learn from you and do some "playing and acting" instead.

 

 

You find the original post here.

 

 

 

text and images britt-arnhild

Three nights a week at the National Theatre for Macbeth.
A role in children´s´television on Icelandic TV.
Up early to shot a scene for a movie.

 

This is not enough for Àgúst.

"Aunt Britt-Arnhild, I love acting. I want to act all the time. I will never stop" 

Àgúst and his friend had been to the theatre Saturday morning to watch Karius and Baktus by the late Norwegian Thorbjørn Egner, and as soon as they came home, the livingroom was transformed into Jens´mouth.
The boys wrote their own version of the story, and spent hours playing and acting.

The aunt from Norway had a lovely time,
watching two boys too busy for computer games.

Not difficult to see that this is a mouth, is it?

 

Do you know the story about Karius and Bactus,
the two tooth trolls?

  

 

Àgúst, you are inspiring me.
I tend to spend to much time on the computer.
I´ll learn from you and do some "playing and acting" instead.

Outstanding Achievement Actor Male: Àgùst Örn

@brittarnhild

The Brooklyn Film Festival has finished its list of award winners. On the "Certificates of Outstanding Achievement, Actor Male" you find an Icelandic Name: Àgùst Örn Børgesson Wigum.

Àgùst Örn is my nephew, the son of my brother Børge.
Àgùst Örn is the boy who makes me travel to Iceland again and again to watch him play at the Icelandic National Theatre (or other places)

Ágùst Örn is the reason I created a fan club.
Àgúst Örn - fan club :-)

 

Here is a repost from January 2013 when I travelled to Iceland to watch Ágùst Örn play in Macbeth

 

 

Lately I have been reading Macbeth several times, so I was well prepared when I arrived at The National Theatre of Iceland last night. I could not understand many words of the play, but I knew the plot. Still it was quite hard to follow last night´s story, where Àgùst played Macduff´s brave son.

Understanding or no understanding.
It didn´t matter much. My goal of coming here was to watch my nephew.
And I did. Oh yes, I did.

After the play Àgùst had promised to take me backstage.
Not at all an easy task, as everything on the scene was covered in blood.
Oh my! What a macabre play Macbeth is!

Àgùst had so much to show me,
and apparently he had told the other actors that he had a visitor
"Oh, you must be the aunt from Norway" 

Yes, I am the aunt from Norway.
The very proud aunt from Norway.

 

I am not Àgùst´s only fan though.
Embla, I think it is time the two of us start a fan club :-)

"Look tante BrittArnhild. Here is the blood we use when we are killed" 

 

Thank you Àgùst, Embla and Stina for a wonderful night.
I will be back for Àgúst´s next play!

 

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By the way, because of Àgùst´s long hair, some people believe he is a girl.
Take a look here to see his answer to that three years ago (Ardi, I am sure you remember it)

Oscar, Amanda and Edda

@brittarnhild

 

USA has Oscar, Norway has Amanda and Iceland has Edda.
Do you remember me talking about Whale Valley, the film where my nephew Ágúst act the main part. In 2010 I went over to Reykjavik to see Ágúst in Oliver Twist at the National Theatre.

 

In 2013 I went there to watch him in Macbeth and was taken on a private tour back stage.

Two days ago was Ágúst´s 12th birthday, and he got a wonderful surprise, 
he is nominated in the category "Actor in main role", as one of five, and as the youngest one ever to be nominated in this Edda category.

Here is a link to the Icelandic newspaper Visir 

And here I am, the leader of his fan club, following the drama from Norway. 

The last photo is from a Saturday in April 2013, when I was reading Morgunbladid, with Ágúst covering a front page.
The Edda Awards takes place the 23rd of February.

In this post I talk about my Ágúst Ørn fan club and me being the only member.
A coupld of you told me then that you wanted to be members as well. If you still do, please send me your email address.
Marta and my parents are members also, so now we are four.

 

Note - the fan club is just for fun, created by a proud aunt :-) 

 

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Here you can see a Whale Valley trailer

And here you can follow Whale Valley on facebook

Whale Valley and my nephew. And a fan club.

@brittarnhild

Do you know that I have a fan club? I am the leader, and.......may be the only member, or at least the only member so far. I am sure that as soon as you learn that the fan club excists, you´ll want to become a member as well.

 

 The goal of my fan club is to be proud of my nephew Ágúst Ørn Børgeson Wigum, the son of my brother Børge. Ágúst Ørn, the reason why I travel to Iceland so often, well, at least one of the reasons. Ágúst´s sister Embla is another :-)

Àgúst loves acting. He has taken part in several television programs in Iceland, he has acted on The Iceland National Theatre, and he has taken part in several films/movies. The most recent movie is Whale Valley, which recieved a Special Mention at Cannes Short Film Festival in May, and recently won the Grand Prize for short film in the Les Percéides Film Festival in Canada .

Here is what Ariel Shaban says at dokufest.com:

Beautifully shot, even more beautifully acted, especially by the youngest actor, Whale Valley is a glimpse of the ethereal northern hemisphere world, desolate and silent. In the outer edges of a rocky shore by the ocean, fisherman family lives with two sons, softly spoken and with innocent faces, showing they still haven’t been touched by the roughness of living a fisherman’s life.

We see trouble coming closer as in the beginning of the film the older son attempts to hang himself, only to be found by his younger brother. In the remainder of the film we see clearly how difficult must be for the two boys to grow up in the great nothingness with almost non-existent and distant parents.

The imagery is haunting and beautiful, at one point showing a whole stranded whale, soon to be cut by the father and his friends.

In his sincere attempts to his brother to commit suicide, his younger brother will attempt something extreme, possibly endangering his own life. This, in the end, brings them even closer together.

Ágúst, Embla and Embla´s friend Salka spent some time with us this summer. They often slept late, and one day Ágúst was the first one up, around noon. I was sitting down in the diningroom when Ágúst looked down at me from the landing, and we had a long aunt-nephew chat. Most of it about the life of a young actor.

This autumn Ágúst is acting again in another play at the National Theatre. I know I have proclaimed that I will be there for every new play, but already with two travels to Iceland so far this year, I don´t know how to make it. 

May be it is time to run my fan club seriously and get some sponsors!

 

 

Ágúst in Morgunbladid

Acting is fun, fun, fun.....

Backstage Macbeth

Oliver Twist