Artist Talk with Gísli Örn Gardarsson & Collaborators December 2, 2010

Part of the 2010 Next Wave Festival (Metamorphosis)

Moderated by Liesl Schillinger

Icelandic actor/director Gísli Örn Gardarsson, “one of the hottest properties in world theatre” (The Times UK), discusses his hair-raising, surprising, and funny reinterpretation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis with members of the cast and New York Times Book Review contributor Liesl Schillinger.

Born in Iceland and raised in Norway, Gisli Örn Gardarsson attended the Icelandic Academy of the Arts. In his last year at the Icelandic Academy in 2001, Gardarsson co-founded the Vesturport Theatre with Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir and Ingvar E. Sigurdsson. He made his debut as a director with his circus-inspired version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which premiered at the Reykjavik City Theatre in November 2002 and has been performed at the Young Vic Theatre in London (2003) and on the West End in London (2004). He directed and adapted Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck, with an original score and lyrics by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, which opened at the Barbican Theatre in London in October 2005. With David Farr, he directed and adapted Metamorphosis at the Lyric Hammersmith in London, with Gardarsson himself in the role of Gregor Samsa and music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. He has also written and directed Love, a romantic musical about two people who find love at the end of their lives; a stage version of the Lucas Moodysson film, Together; and a new version of Faust. His acting credits include A Matter of Life and Death, an adaptation of the 1946 Powell and Pressburger film, directed by Emma Rice; Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus; and the title role in Don John—all performed with the Kneehigh theater company. He starred in (and cowrote) the film, Children, for which he was awarded a Shooting Star at the 2007 Berlinale, and he recently appeared in the film Prince of Persia, directed by Mike Newell.

Vesturport Theatre was founded in 2001 by, among others, Gísli Örn Gardarsson, Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir, and Ingvar E. Sigurdsson and quickly established itself as one of Iceland’s most inventive award-winning theater and film companies. Vesturport’s productions include Romeo and Juliet, Woyzeck, Dubble Dusch, Love, and Faust. Vesturport has produced three feature films: Children, Parents, and Brim (based on Vesturport’s play of the same title).

Free for ticket holders

Official Website: http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=2237